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Oró says that the company’s support demonstrates the involvement and confidence of the sector’s main agents in the two agricultural shows.

Agroseguro and Fira de Lleida have signed an agreement whereby the insurance company will sponsor various promotional elements of the Sant Miquel and Eurofruit Fairs. The agreement was signed by Francisco Javier Joana, Agroseguro’s regional director in Catalonia, and Oriol Oró, general manager of Fira de Lleida. It is worth remembering that the 70th edition of the Sant Miquel Agricultural Fair (National Agricultural Machinery Show) and the 39th edition of Eurofruit (Professional Trade Fair for Fruit Industry Suppliers) will take place from 26th to 29th September this year.

Under the agreement, Agroseguro is the exclusive sponsor of the Sant Miquel and Eurofruit Agricultural Fair poster and the paper and digital invitations. For its part, Fira de Lleida will include Agroseguro’s image and links to the company’s website in different promotional formats, both physical and digital, for these shows.

Javier Joana stated that the collaboration between Agroseguro and Fira de Lleida, which began in 1992, “involves a presence at a very important trade fair event that gives us direct contact with professionals in the field” and involves “an image action that is also useful for supporting farmers and the Fira de Lleida, rather than a direct commercial task”. According to Joana, “it’s about working with synergies, the Fira provides a name and we provide a name for the Fira, so that everyone wins”.

For his part, Oró has valued very positively “this sustained support for the Sant Miquel Fair and the whole agricultural world from a major player in the sector, which gives us considerable visibility and prestige”. Oró emphasises that Agroseguro’s support demonstrates the involvement and confidence of the sector’s main agents in the Sant Miquel Fair and Eurofruit.

Agroseguro (Agrupación Española de Entidades Aseguradoras de los Seguros Agrarios Combinados) is in charge of managing agricultural insurance on behalf of and in the name of the insurance companies that form part of the co-insurance pool.

Along with Municipalia, which is not being held this year

Fira de Lleida is the 7th largest trade fair institution in Spain in terms of the number of international trade fairs, after Madrid, Barcelona, Valencia, Barakaldo, Orense and Seville.

The Ministry of Industry, Trade and Enterprise has published a resolution that once again recognises the “Full Internationality” seal for the Eurofruit show (Professional Trade Fair for Fruit Industry Suppliers) for the year 2024, in addition to the recognition already held by Municipàlia (International Trade Fair for Municipal Equipment and Services). With this double certification, Fira de Lleida is the 7th largest trade fair institution in Spain in terms of the number of international events, after Madrid (45 shows), Barcelona (22), Valencia (13), Barakaldo (4), Orense (3) and Seville (3).

This official seal of approval reinforces Fira de Lleida’s commitment to the internationalisation of its most important shows. In addition to Eurofruit and Municipàlia, Fira de Lleida hosts shows with a wide international representation, such as Lleida Expotren, with exhibitors from France, Germany, Austria and Switzerland, and Innocamping, with a notable presence of French representatives.

It should be remembered that trade fair organisations wishing to maintain or opt for the full internationality concession must apply for it every year and must provide audited data for each show for the next edition.

The International seal responds to the fulfilment of a series of specific requirements (number of exhibitors and foreign visitors, regularity of the show, sector support for the fair, that the event allows the acquisition of new technologies, etc.) and allows the selected shows to enter the Official Calendar of International Fairs, which is published in the Official State Gazette (BOE).

The Sant Miquel Fair and Eurofruit will take place from 26th to 29th September, while the next edition of Municipalia will be held in October 2025.

Official recognition by the Spanish Ministry of Industry, Trade and Tourism.

Fira de Lleida remains the 6^th largest trade fair institution in the country in terms of the number of international shows, after Madrid, Barcelona, Valencia, Zaragoza and Barakaldo.

The Ministry of Industry, Trade and Tourism has ratified the “Full Internationality” seal for the year 2023 for the Eurofruit show – an event held jointly with the Sant Miquel Fair – and Municipalia, recognitions that maintain the Fira de Lleida as the 6th trade fair institution in the country in terms of the number of international shows, behind only Madrid, Barcelona, Valencia, Zaragoza and Barakaldo. This year, the Sant Miquel Fair and Eurofruit (Professional Trade Fair for Fruit Industry Suppliers) will take place from 28 September to 1 October, while Municipalia (International Municipal Equipment and Services Fair) will be held from 17 to 19 October.

The basic criteria for awarding this accreditation are to have held at least three editions of the show in question and to accredit, with audited data, that the number of direct foreign exhibitors reaches a minimum of 10% of the total or 5% of foreign visitors. In addition, the International seal requires compliance with a series of specific requirements (regularity of the show, sector support for the fair and that the event allows the acquisition of new technologies, among others).

Fira de Lleida’s continued commitment to the internationalisation of its main shows is ratified once again this year by these certifications. It is worth remembering that this year’s Sant Miquel and Eurofruit had exhibitors from Finland, France, Italy and the USA, while the last edition of Municipalia registered the presence of exhibitors from Germany, Belgium, Canada, Denmark, France, Italy, the Netherlands, Portugal and the United Kingdom. Both shows also welcomed visitors and institutional and business representatives from various countries in Europe, Africa, Asia and Latin America.

The granting of full internationality allows the selected shows to enter the Official Calendar of International Fairs, which is published in the Official State Gazette (BOE) and implies their “official status”, which means recognition and a high degree of prestige for these fairs. It also involves dissemination and publicity, given that Spanish trade offices and chambers of commerce abroad, among other bodies, recommend these fairs when they receive enquiries from potential interested parties.

It also implies customs facilities, such as, for example, that exhibitors from other non-EU countries can temporarily exhibit their products without having to pay customs duties. And the inclusion of a fair in the Official Calendar is a prerequisite for it to be eligible for subsidies from the State Budget allocations for this purpose.

The area dedicated to tractors will have 2,000 m².

The Sant Miquel Agricultural Fair and the Eurofruit show have already registered 85% occupation of the total gross exhibition space (64,000 m²), with two months to go. According to the organisers of the fair, “the rate of contracting exhibition space is quite good, especially in July”. On the other hand, the announcement of the Renove Plan of aid for the renewal of the national fleet of agricultural machinery for the 2022 financial year, “is a positive factor that is also contributing to the dynamisation of the sector”. Within the exhibition area of the fair, the area dedicated to tractors stands out, which will occupy a total of 2,000 m².

The 68^th edition of the Sant Miquel Agricultural Fair (National Agricultural Machinery Show) and the 37^th edition of Eurofruit (Professional Trade Fair for Fruit Industry Suppliers) will take place from 29 September to 2 October 2022 at the Fira de Lleida exhibition centre and will offer a wide and varied exhibition focusing on the agricultural world.

Among the new features this year, the first BIT Congress will be held, the leading event in Bioeconomy, Innovation and Technology in Catalonia, which will also include an exhibition area in Hall 4 of Fira de Lleida, with various companies from the bioeconomy sector. In the same Hall 4 we will find the 5G Ponent Area, which will host presentations of projects in this field, startup companies (newly created firms that market products or services through the intensive use of information and communication technologies) and entities and institutions that promote this innovative technology.

The 25^th edition of the Agricultural Machinery Technological Innovation Award, the 51^st edition of the Agricultural Book Award and the 7^th edition of the Agricultural Technical Article Award, endowed with 3,000 and 1,000 euros respectively, will also take place within the framework of the fair, a meeting point for the leading companies in the agricultural sector.

The Sant Miquel Agricultural Fair and Eurofruit will host a large number of exhibitors from Spain and other European countries, according to Fira de Lleida’s forecasts, with a programme of parallel activities that will include technical seminars, conferences, presentations, drone demonstrations in the field of precision agriculture and professional meetings, among others.

In terms of sectors, Sant Miquel and Eurofruit will be exhibiting an exhibition focusing on agricultural machinery, precision agriculture (with benchmark organisations such as LleidaDrone, which will be showcasing advances related to the fight against climate change), equipment and services for agriculture and livestock farming, local agri-food products, the automotive industry, financial services and insurance.

The last edition in 2021 welcomed 100,000 visitors and 290 exhibitors, and was the setting for some 50 conferences, technical seminars and other parallel activities with more than 6,000 registrations from professionals in the sector and numerous institutional visits.

We distribute, install and maintain the world’s No. 1 brand in wind machines, Orchard-Rite, with more than 35,000 fans installed.

Fruit orchards, vineyards and high-value crops are considerably affected by weather conditions every year. It is one of the most important uncontrolled factors for the development of these crops.

Therefore, when the temperature drops below freezing, even for a short period of time, irreparable damage is caused. The formation of ice inside their tissues drastically affects the harvest.

In order to mitigate the consequences of these drops in temperature, different methods can be applied to prevent the air from cooling down.

Orchard-Rite wind machines work by forcing the recirculation of air masses, removing the cold air close to the ground and replacing it with warmer air from the thermal inversion layer.

The American company Orchard-Rite designs and manufactures state-of-the-art wind turbines.

• Maximum protection: FLEXOR STEEL gearboxes and input shaft.

• Solid construction: Solid fibreglass blade. Designed with the latest technology and precision built for frost control.

• Constant Force: Three drive lines create maximum torque transfer and rotation.

• Corrosion Resistant: Two-part paint system maximises corrosion resistance. Hot-dip galvanizing available for corrosion-prone environments.

• Energy Efficient: Certified to meet EPA emissions standards.

• Maximum stability, thanks to concrete base and high-strength anchor bolts Complies with International Building Code (IBC) for seismic and wind loads.

• Remote monitoring, allowing control from anywhere in the world.

Information provided by the exhibiting company.

The Lleida-based association will highlight the usefulness of these vehicles in the reforestation of forests around the world.

LleidaDrone will be present at the next edition of the Sant Miquel Agricultural Fair – Eurofruit explaining the progress of the Dronecoria project in the fight against climate change. This project focuses on the creation of technology, involving various social sectors, through different initiatives to contribute to the fight against climate change by reforesting burnt forests using drones. It will also focus on the use of artificial intelligence systems for field work. It should be remembered that the 68th Sant Miquel Agricultural Fair and Eurofruit will take place from 29 September to 2 October 2022 at the Fira de Lleida exhibition centre.

In recent years, the project has enabled the development of a large number of technologies, from different versions – a total of 7 – of the large Dronecoria drone, to seed launcher systems. Along these lines, technological applications have been developed that enable the management of the different reforestations that are carried out throughout the world and which use artificial intelligence systems, maps and very specific mobile applications.

The task of raising awareness of the practical use of drones in environmental tasks that the Lleida association will carry out at the fair is a continuation of the activities carried out with more than 600 students from different high schools in Lleida and the surrounding area during the last academic year. This activity has been carried out with the sponsorship of Google Developers Group Lleida and Europe, which has allowed students to receive general notions of the project and build Dronecoria drones in a workshop.

Dronecoria is led by Lot Amorós, an activist in the fields of ecology and drones, with whom the LleidaDrone Association has been collaborating since 2015, the year in which LleidaDrone presented the first phases of the project at the Sant Miquel Fair.

The project will be presented at the stand of the LleidaDrone Association, located in Hall 4 of Fira de Lleida, with a display of Dronecoria drones and launchers, and workshops to assemble them during the days of the fair.

The LleidaDrone Association was founded in 2011 in the Science and Technology Park of Lleida and has developed more than a hundred events in Lleida, in Catalonia, in the rest of Spain and in several European countries, always with the philosophy of offering activities for the dissemination of drone projects and technology on a non-profit basis.

As per a resolution of the Spanish Ministry of Industry, Trade and Tourism

Fira de Lleida, with Eurofruit and Municipalia, is the 6^th largest trade fair institution in Spain in terms of the number of international shows, after Madrid, Barcelona, Valencia, Zaragoza and Barakaldo.

The Ministry of Industry, Trade and Tourism has once again awarded the seal of “Full Internationality” to the Eurofruit show (Professional Trade Fair for Fruit Industry Suppliers) for the year 2022, in addition to the recognition already held by Municipalia (International Trade Fair for Municipal Equipment and Services). With this double certification, Fira de Lleida remains the 6th largest trade fair institution in Spain in terms of the number of international events.

This official seal of approval reinforces Fira de Lleida’s commitment to the internationalisation of its most important trade fairs. It should be remembered, for example, that the last edition of Sant Miquel and Eurofruit had visitors from Andorra, Costa Rica, Ethiopia, France, Ghana, Kenya, Morocco, Peru, Portugal, Dominican Republic, South Africa, Turkey and Chile, as well as exhibitors from France, Italy and Canada.

Fira de Lleida is the 6^th largest trade fair organisation in Spain in terms of the number of international events, behind Madrid, Barcelona, Valencia, Zaragoza and Barakaldo.

The International seal of approval responds to the fulfilment of a series of specific requirements (number of exhibitors and foreign visitors, regularity of the show, sector support for the fair, that the event allows the acquisition of new technologies, etc.) and allows the selected shows to enter the Official Calendar of International Fairs, which is published in the Official State Gazette (BOE).

The Sant Miquel Fair and Eurofruit will take place from 29 September to 2 October, while the next edition of Municipalia will be held in October 2023.

Oriol Oró states that the companies in the sector “have shown their support for the show as an important commercial and promotional platform for their products and services”.

The 67^th edition of the Sant Miquel Agricultural Fair (National Agricultural Machinery Show) and the 36^th edition of Eurofruit (Professional Trade Fair for Fruit Industry Suppliers) closed their doors today with a very positive balance on the part of organisers, exhibitors and visitors, according to Oriol Oró, director general of Fira de Lleida, both for the volume of business registered and for “having been able to resume trade fair activity in person after many months of prohibition”.

Oró also stressed that the success of the show is largely due to the companies in the sector, which “have shown their support for the Sant Miquel Fair as an important commercial and promotional platform for their products and services”, an affirmation that is backed up by the 290 exhibitors present and by the fact that 100% of the available exhibition space was taken up. He also defended the role of the fair as a driving force for the region’s economy, highlighting the great economic impact it has on sectors such as trade fair suppliers, hotels and restaurants, trade and transport, among others.

Oró also referred to the general satisfaction on the part of exhibitors and visitors for resuming the commercial activity in person, with a “massive” public attendance, some 100,000 people, although there has been a slight decrease with respect to the 2019 edition. This decrease is due to the fact that this year’s fair did not coincide with Saint Michael’s Day -which means one less public holiday-, the weather on Sunday afternoon and the low attendance of people in the older age group, possibly due to the psychological effect caused by the pandemic.

The general director of Fira de Lleida stated that the professional visitors have been loyal to the fair, which means that the number of operations and contacts registered this year has remained in line with previous editions. Oró also stressed that the sanitary control of the exhibition centre by means of an Artificial Intelligence system worked perfectly, without any incident, and that “the fair took place with complete normality and civic-mindedness”.

The State defends a “greener, more digital and fairer territory”.
Gabriel Castañares, Director General of Leveraging Policies for the Fulfilment of Agenda 2030 of the Ministry of Social Rights and Agenda 2030, considered the high figures for participation and surface occupation of the Fira de Sant Miquel to be “a good sign” and showed the predisposition of the State Government to support the primary sector, which is fundamental. In this regard, he highlighted the new Food Chain Law, which promotes sustainability and prohibits selling at a loss, thus “protecting the weakest links in the sector”. He also referred to technological innovation, care for the environment and the protection of water and biodiversity as the main axes of state policies and, in short, he said that the aim is that by 2030 “the territory will be greener, more digital and fairer”.

For his part, the Mayor of Lleida and President of the Fira de Lleida Foundation, Miquel Pueyo, stated that the Fira de Sant Miquel has been a “success”, above all because it has shown “that people were really looking forward to the fair”, which is an unequivocal symptom that the pandemic is being overcome. He also insisted that the 21st century will undoubtedly be the century of cities like Lleida that “advance in sustainability, proximity, empathy and solidarity”.

In this sense, the Mayor mentioned the Lleida Orchard, which during the pandemic has been “a place of health and psychological balance”. Once again, he insisted that Lleida wants to be a great AgroBioTec “hub” in southern Europe. To achieve this, actions are already being promoted, such as the organisation of the Forum for the promotion of digital transformation in the agri-food sector – Datagri 2021; or the signing of the collaboration agreement with Vic to organise a Bioeconomy, Innovation and Technology Congress-Fair in 2022, or the 5th National Congress of Agricultural Engineering, which will be held next year in Lleida. Pueyo also made reference to the Gardeny Agri-Food Science and Technology Park, in which the University of Lleida (UdL) participates, a very important institution in terms of technological innovation.

In his turn, the president of the Lleida Chamber of Commerce, Jaume Saltó, said that the occupation of all the space at the Sant Miquel Fair shows that “the fair is too small” and highlighted the firm commitment of the exhibitors to new technologies, which he put at an increase of 20% in this latest edition and also recalled the novelty of this year’s Space 5G. On this edition of the fair, he commented that there were fewer visitors, but that the presence of professionals has been maintained, so many contracts have been made.

Earlier, Jordi Latorre, vice-president of Lleida Provincial Council, highlighted the work of farmers, who are often treated unfairly on issues such as immigration, and, on the other hand, thanked the primary sector for producing food and caring for the land, two essential tasks. In terms of demands, he asked the representative of the State Government to take measures to change the excesses of insurance companies, which often do not cover the damage suffered by farmers due to storms or hail.

Finally, the sub-delegate of the Government of the Generalitat, Bernat Solé, congratulated the primary sector for its vitality and for “not letting up during the pandemic” and referred to the challenges promoted by the Generalitat, such as the National Food Pact and the Annual Technology Transfer Plan.

Sant Miquel and Eurofruit, innovation and knowledge transfer
In terms of innovation and knowledge transfer, one of the areas that has been most promoted at this edition, it is worth highlighting the quantitative and qualitative increase in the number of works and machines presented, respectively, for the Agricultural Book and Agricultural Article Awards, and the Award for Technological Innovation and Safety in the Design of Agricultural Machinery and Equipment for the Agri-food Industry. The former registered 38 books and articles, and the latter 15 pieces of equipment, an increase of 20%.

In terms of internationalisation, Fira de Lleida continues to be committed to this area, with actions such as the AGROTECH Mission -digital, due to the context of the pandemic-, organised by Acció with the participation of 25 companies and 10 countries (Chile, Costa Rica, Ethiopia, Ghana, Kenya, Morocco, Peru, Dominican Republic, South Africa and Turkey).

As regards the digitisation of the agricultural sector, there was a wide variety of talks, presentations and demonstrations by agricultural institutions, companies and organisations. A new feature was the multifunctional 5G Ponent space, dedicated to the dissemination of knowledge and the presentation of projects by the country’s leading research centres, as well as the presentation of products and services that already incorporate these new technologies, and which was attended by start-ups from the sector. In this line, it is also worth mentioning the conference space and the presentations of the Inno4Agro project of the City Council, or the Datagri Forum, which will take place this November.

With a view to the 2022 edition, the fair hosted the presentation of the BIT’22 Congress (Bioeconomy, Innovation and Technology), which will take place in Vic and Lleida on dates that will coincide with the Mercat del Ram in Vic and the Sant Miquel Fair in Lleida, as well as the presentation of the Congress of the National Association of Agricultural Engineers, to be held in autumn next year.

The JARC trade union organises a conference at the 67^th Sant Miquel Agricultural Fair – Eurofruit

The Segrià Hall in Pavilion 1 of Fira de Lleida today hosted the conference “Olive and nuts: aid from the new CAP and maximum use of natural resources”, which explained the benefits of the Keyline technique for the use of rainwater and to prevent erosion of rainfed fields. The conference, organised by the Catalan Government’s Department of Climate Action, Food and Rural Agenda and the Young Farmers and Ranchers of Catalonia (JARC), was held as part of the 67th edition of the Sant Miquel Agricultural Fair (National Agricultural Machinery Show) and the 36th edition of Eurofruit (Professional Trade Fair for Fruit Industry Suppliers).

The presentation on the Keyline technique was given by the olive grower and agricultural engineer Ivan Caelles, who explained his experience with olive groves in the Vall de Barcedana, in the Pallars Jussà region of Lleida, to the many people attending the event. Caelles reported that this technique, created a century ago by the Australian farmer and engineer P. A. Yeomans, is particularly interesting for rainfed crops on land with a slope of between 4 and 8%.

Basically, it involves analysing the orography of the terrain using satellite technology and laser devices to create key lines in the fields to allow rainwater to flow through them and irrigate the land evenly. This avoids the furrows that erode the soil and waste water in areas with low rainfall, which are increasingly affected by climate change.

Caelles encouraged producers to apply this system, which he considers simple and profitable. According to him, it is very suitable for olive, almond and pistachio plantations, but also for extensive cereal crops. In fact, he added that the technique even offers advantages in irrigated crops, optimising the functionality of the supply through the plastic tubes.

On the other hand, the conference also provided information on the new European CAP subsidies, which are expected to be implemented in 2023. In this regard, Jordi Vidal, technical secretary of JARC, was critical of the future regulations because “they have always told us that they want to make it easier, but it is increasingly complex,” he said.

Basically, Vidal explained that from 2023 the CAP will change its model and will benefit farmers who are affiliated to Social Security as self-employed or those who can prove that more than 25% of their total income comes from farming. He also said that the new aid is expected to be a minimum of 300 euros and a maximum of 100,000 euros, while he called for the controls to reach everyone.

Eurecat, the Technology Centre of Catalonia, is calling for new technological proposals to be presented at the Sant Miquel Fair.

The great challenge of agricultural robotics is to advance in the multifunctionality of the devices, which is of enormous complexity, as explained today the promoter of Robotics of Eurecat, Technology Centre of Catalonia, Jesús Pablo, during the presentation of the conference “Automation of operations of mobile robots in agricultural environments (projects Robs4Crops, Scorpion and agROBOfood)”, held at the Agora Tecnológica del Área 5G de Ponent, “LleidaON” at the 67th edition of the Sant Miquel Agricultural Fair (National Agricultural Machinery Show) and the 36th edition of Eurofruit (Professional Fair of Fruit Industry Suppliers).

Although technology applied to agriculture has developed in recent years, the big problem with robots is that, for now, they only do one specific task, but are not multifunctional, according to Pablo who, nevertheless, has encouraged all those interested to present ideas and technological projects that can be developed with European funding and with the collaboration of companies. Precisely, Eurecat, which is a centre that provides innovative technology to companies in order to respond to their innovation needs, offers advice and management of initiatives, in this case robotics, that are of interest. “It is the time to investigate and if we have good ideas, we have to put them forward”, according to Jesús Pablo.

In fact, Pablo commented that there are already many good proposals, but there is often a lack of funding for them to go ahead, an issue on which Eurecat, an entity with a presence in many countries, can also provide advice. The speaker also stressed the importance of the promotion and creation of experimental farms and, obviously, the promotion of the digital environment to facilitate innovation and the application of new technology, such as 5G.

This year’s Sant Miquel Fair has a stand in Pavilion 4 of the 5G Area of the Ponent “Lleida ON”, which functions as a technology agora with a packed programme of activities. The initiative is supported by the Department of Digital Policies and Public Administration of the Catalan Government and is carried out within the 5G Strategy of Catalonia, with the collaboration of the Mobile World Capital Barcelona, the i2CAT Foundation, the Chamber of Commerce of Lleida, the Diputació de Lleida, Lleida City Council and Telefónica.