It is a record edition for the Italian Agency for Development Cooperation that opens in Rimini. In fact, AICS is the main exhibitor of Macfrut 2024 with 13 foreign offices present (6 for Africa – Burkina Faso, Niger, Senegal, Mozambique, Tunisia, Egypt; 3 for Asia and the Middle East – Lebanon, Palestine, Vietnam; 3 for Latin America – Salvador, Cuba, Colombia and 1 for Europe – Albania) and a 120 sqm pavilion, to present a selection of the main cooperation projects in the agrifood and food security sector, in which innovation will be the underlying theme of the Agency’s interventions. The first panel is dedicated to Africa and the application of the Mattei Plan in local realities, to then continue with panels and side events dedicated to the coffee and fruit and vegetable supply chains in Africa, South America, Asia and the Middle East and to the financial instruments for the private sector.
The AICS day at Macfrut 2024 will begin at 10 am with the first opening panel entitled “Cooperating for Innovation: the Mattei Plan applied in local realities“, with an initial in-depth analysis of innovation in the projects financed by the Agency. This will then be followed by the focus on AICS support for the coffee supply chain in Mozambique, on actions with UNIDO in the coffee supply chain in East Africa and on quality training in the coffee excellence supply chain in which the Agency has always acted according to the system envisaged by the Mattei Plan which sees the involvement of Italian companies in the sector and interventions transversal to agriculture, training and increased resilience to climate change. The first panel will conclude with interventions on the mango supply chain in Mali and the opportunities it offers, together with modern horticulture, to achieve dignified and profitable work. In the afternoon, 3 side events will take place, the first on the excellent crops of the Egyptian valleys, the second on producer organizations and associations in Albania and Lebanon and the last dedicated to EU and Balkan business models and market access for the sector of medicinal plants, held by the AICS offices of Albania and Lebanon.
The second day will see 3 side events, two in the morning, dedicated to financial instruments in favor of the private sector of the fruit and vegetable supply chain in Tunisia and to the coffee supply chain in South America, with tasting tables for visitors, and the last one in the afternoon dedicated to Scientific and Technical Support in ASEAN countries for sustainable agriculture, provided by the AICS headquarters in Hanoi.
The last day will be dedicated to the morning panel entitled “Inclusive and sustainable strengthening of the coffee supply chain for the conservation of tropical forests” organized by the AICS offices of Colombia, Salvador and Cuba and followed by the two side events of AICS Burkina Faso and Niger, on local crops resilient to climate change, and that of AICS Palestine dedicated to the value of agriculture in the Palestinian economy.
“This year AICS renews and increases its presence at Macfrut, in light of the growing involvement of the Agency and all its branches in the fruit and vegetable and food security sectors, which have always been important sectors of our cooperation actions.” – comments Marco Riccardo Rusconi, Director of the Italian Agency for Development Cooperation. “Never before, however, thanks also to the impetus of the Mattei Plan, of which AICS is part of the control room, we can really make a difference in the fight against hunger and poverty through innovative and truly sustainable actions and investments in the sector capable of bringing growth, stability and long-term development”.
