Farmers to visit Italy for farming exhibition

Italian Trade Agency Director Giuseppe Manenti (in green tie) follows deliberations during Agency's Machinery Mission to Kenya Meeting on June 12, 2024. [Courtesy]

About ten farmers will visit Italy in November to attend the International Exposition of Machinery for Agriculture and Gardening (EIMA) exhibition.

The exhibition's 46th edition will take place on November 6 to 10 in Bologna.

This exhibition is organised by FederUnacoma (Federation of Italian Agricultural Machinery Manufacturers).

"FederUnacoma represents an essential platform for the Italian-Kenyan partnership in the Agri-mechanical sector," said Fabio Ricci, its Vice Director General.

The associations aim to promote mechanization and technological innovation to meet the needs of the farming sector.

"In addition to Kenyan farmers, technicians and operators, an official delegation is also expected at EIMA International, whose planning is underway," added Ricci.

Through the Italian Trade Agency (ITA), FederUnacoma saw 12 companies visit the country from June 12 to 14, to attend the Africa Agri-Tech exhibition that was hosted at the Kenyatta International Convention Centre (KICC).

"We proudly inaugurated the first Agricultural Machinery Mission in Kenya, a seminar featuring the renowned and increasingly appreciated agricultural machinery technology and innovation of Italy, in Kenya," said Giuseppe Manenti, ITA Director.

According to Manenti, ITA will offer knowledge and exploration of Italian technology through business-to-business meetings with leading Kenyan importers and distributors of agricultural machinery and farmers.

During their stay in Kenya, officials from the companies met with officials from the Ministry of Agriculture and the Kenya Agricultural and Livestock Research Organization (KARLO) in Naivasha, Nakuru County.

The June 12 meeting saw them engage them on investment opportunities in the Kenyan agricultural sector.

ITA in collaboration with Agriculture Ministry and KARLO is seeking to establish meaningful agricultural practices promoting food security and economic growth in the country.

"Mechanisation remains our key priority to support the government achieve their goal of food security. At the moment we are trying to scale up far equipment and machineries that are appropriate to the right crop of framers and that are affordable," said Engineer Simiyu Wangete from the Ministry of Agriculture after the meeting.

They also discussed possible partnerships for the exchange of knowledge and expertise as well as funding to enable farmers to access farming equipment at affordable rates.

"Probably now with the help of KARLO we can start to work together to find solutions to the machinery and equipment needs of Kenyan farmers," said Manenti after the June meeting.

Italy is interested in extending its farming practices to Kenya since it contributes about 33 per cent of the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) and employs more than 40 per cent of the total population.

In the rural areas people directly benefiting from agriculture are 70 per cent of the total population.

The Expo also raised awareness of the need for mechanisation and technological innovation in the agricultural sector.