By Agritechnica Asia & HortiAsia

Last week, the AGRITECHNICA ASIA and HORTI ASIA 2022 trade fairs held in Bangkok, Thailand, successfully concluded, attracting 8,326 expert participants from 59 countries, including Vietnam, this year’s partner country.

Exhibitors welcomed the high international participation which underlined the trade fairs’ leading agricultural machinery role in Southeast Asia. Already, numerous exhibitors have rebooked 60 percent of exhibitor space for the next edition in 2024 with companies citing buying intentions and international profile of the visitors as top reasons.

Over the three exhibition days, from 25 to 27 May, 218 speakers shared their expertise in 98 conferences, many held in hybrid format. Attended by 4,326 onsite attendees and 2,881 online visitors, the conference program accompanies the international trade fair for crop production and smart farming, which is co-hosted by the Thai Ministry of Agriculture and Cooperatives (MOAC).

“AGRITECHNICA ASIA & HORTI ASIA is the preferred guide for ag machinery investment for farms in the region. With so many different options to choose from today, especially now that smart farming equipment is making inroads, we need a central venue with people interactions that enable us to identify, compare and inspect machinery close-up. This allows farmers to make wise decisions and we found a lot of solutions to develop Vietnam agriculture even further,” said Mr. Pham Quoc Bao, Sancopack.

Eager to meet the equipment needs of farmers in this region, exhibitors had handpicked for display their selection of compatible products and services, which they believe will contribute to raising the level of agricultural production in the Southeast Asian region. Attendees to the region’s largest trade exhibitions for smart agriculture and horticulture production were made up of trade visitors and farmers as well as 350 large-scale buyers from Asia-Pacific countries taking part in an exclusive invitation program. 

“Access to both the right equipment and the right quality is fundamental to modern farming. AGRITECHNICA ASIA this year has given CLAAS the opportunity to get into contact with astute buyers from large-scale farms all over the region. Engaging with these farmers in dialogues have also been a mutual enrichment that could even result in new solutions,” commented Mr. Anil Menon, Managing Director of CLAAS Regional Center South East Asia.  

More than 250 brands from 26 countries presented solutions for Southeast Asian markets with companies from Thailand, India, Germany, Italy, China and Vietnam among others.  

Technical program explores topics in-depth

Alongside the exhibitor displays including tractors, harvesters and drones, the conference program with its nearly 100 sessions invited visitors to explore other topics in-depth like cannabis and sustainable rice production as well as vertical and smart farming, the latter hosted by MOAC in a dedicated pavilion as the integration of smart faming is a priority for Thailand over the next decade. Young farmers shared their agricultural practices in smart farming and their vision for the next generation of farmers in Thailand. 

The three Thematic Pavilions -Thailand Smart Farming Pavilion, Vertical Farming Pavilion, Cannabis Pavilion – delivered product displays accompanied by the live expert perspective on their title theme. Pavilion visitors appreciated the face-to-face exchanges as well as drone simulations, performing precision tasks.

Conference highlights included topical titles like “Thailand Cane and Sugar Industries after Covid-19”; “Mechanization, Postharvest and Smart Farming for Sustainable Rice Production”; and “Development of Smart Industrial Agriculture Technology in Thailand”. Some of the discussion events, like the Thai-Dutch AgTech startup session, held live online are available on-demand.

Organized by the German Federal Ministry for Food and Agriculture (BMEL) and DLG (German Agricultural Society) the conference program’s Asia Pacific Trading Summit facilitated networking and knowledge on markets, technology, after-sales service for agricultural machinery manufacturers and dealers. 

Invited by Thailand’s Department of Agricultural Extension, smart farmer groups took part in an exclusive program, accommodating their need for knowledge in smart farming solutions, including efficient water management or post-harvest solutions.

Innovative solutions for food supply chains and climate change 

With food supply chains broken and a climate crisis looming, Christine Zimmerman-Loessl, Chairwoman, Association for Vertical Farming, Germany, sees a clear trend in vertical farming. “I can see all over the world a global trend into vertical farming. We need to innovate traditional agriculture. Especially in Thailand, I can see the acceleration in this development,” she said.

“Climate change affects agricultural production. Against this background, in the upcoming future, we will be doing more research with country partners, including Thailand, on how to make rice production more sustainable and more cost effective. We are excited to join other international events this year such as AGRITECHNICA ASIA Live in Vietnam,” said Martin Gummert, Senior Scientist, International Rice Research Institute (IRRI).

For the first time, the organizers, DLG, and VNU Asia Pacific, introduced Vietnam as a partner country with the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development of Vietnam (MARD) offering valuable contributions on attractive market opportunities in Vietnam. 

AGRITECHNICA ASIA and HORTI ASIA 2022 concluded with an invitation from MARD to visit  ‘AGRITECHNICA ASIA Live’, an outdoor event for live machinery demonstrations on the fields, to be held in Can Tho Province, Vietnam, 24-26 August 2022.

The next AGRITECHNICA ASIA & HORTI ASIA will be held on 22-24 May 2024, BITEC, Bangkok, welcoming agricultural and horticultural businesses from the entire Southeast Asian region to the leading exhibitions in the region. In the meantime, the global agricultural community will meet at AGRITECHNICA 2023 on 12-18 November 2023, Hanover, Germany.