The event has already opened its accreditations, which will bring together more than 8,000 professionals from the entire agri-food industry value chain: from farm owners, agronomists, farmers and technicians to representatives of cooperatives, food industry managers and associations, among others. More than 170 exhibitor firms will respond to the needs of these professionals and will showcase the latest developments in the market. Under the slogan ‘Planting innovation for a 4.0 field’, the first edition will highlight the need to stimulate more modern agriculture in Spain in order to convert plots of land into more productive, efficient and environmentally responsible assets.

Alberto Planas, director of Expo Agritech 2024, has pointed out the important role that the fair will play for the agricultural world, ‘as it will be a highly valuable platform to learn first-hand how innovation is taking the sector's competitiveness to the next level with cutting-edge solutions. It will undoubtedly be a fair that will turn Malaga into the epicentre of the agritech industry, in a unique enclave that combines the presentation of products and solutions, knowledge and networking.

A global congress with five simultaneous stages

The AgriTech 4.0 Congress, the largest innovation forum for the agricultural industry, will take place within the framework of the Field 4.0 Fair, where the trends that are defining its path will be put on the table and its challenges will be analysed. More than 360 experts on 5 simultaneous stages will delve into burning issues, such as the potential of 4.0 technologies, with the leadership of artificial intelligence, to improve work on farms or the impact of the socioeconomic context, marked by inflation, on the expansion of businesses related to fruit and vegetables.

The congress will also debate the water situation in Spain in recent months marked by drought in different communities, while strategies will be shared to optimise water in order to reduce the impact on harvests. Crops are also strengthened by the use of products and technologies that improve the fertilisation process and enrich the soil. In addition to fertilisers and bio fertilisers, organic fertilisers and precision digital initiatives that encourage plant growth with better results will also be examined at the meeting.

As for the organisation of the AgriTech 4.0 Congress, its agenda will include different summits aimed at providing specialised content for professional profiles that are in continuous development and that need to know about the latest innovations that are happening in their field of business. This is the case of agricultural engineers, cooperative managers, young farmers and farm owners, who in the latter case will discover how to measure the increase in permanent CO2 retention in agricultural and forestry activities, while at the same time delving into regenerative agriculture and agrotechnology.

In parallel, there will be vertical forums focused on horticulture, which will explain the new developments that are affecting this area. For its part, the olive growing forum will address, among other issues, whether exponential technologies are within the reach of small and medium-sized olive and olive oil producers. The auditoriums will also include the fruit tree forum, which will offer a workshop on crop forecasting, among other initiatives, and the wine and vineyard and extensive crops forum. 

The congress will also host workshops in which processes and technological proposals that professionals can incorporate in order to optimise their routine will be presented in a very practical way. As a result, they will teach how to manage the new CAP (Common Agricultural Policy); how to approach the administration's open data to improve decision-making, how to carry out waste regeneration, how to market carbon credits, and how to manage pests and diseases.