There are a lot of expectations for the International Asparagus Days (Cesena, October 16-18, 2018), an event intended to take stock of the technical, production and business situation of this vegetable.
The cultivation of the green, white and purple asparagus involves 210.000 hectares worldwide and currently shows market opportunities that can involve a further 60.000 hectares.
We discussed the event with Luciano Trentini, who promoted its realization in cooperation with the expert Christian Befve and Cesena Fiera.
"The idea to create a dedicated follow-up meeting at Macfrut 2018 came about because of the asparagus producers' need to build up a global Forum to meet each other and discuss issues related to the cultivation and supply of this species." Trentini explains. "It will be held in October, when the producers have more time available, rather than May, when Macfrut takes place. Furthermore, we mean to take stock of some aspects of the cultivation technique, which could be revolutionized by important innovations in the near future"
International Asparagus Day is a market-sector event in which all the key-aspects of production-cycle, supply-chain and sales will be discussed. More specifically, it will host remarkably high-profile conferences, where international experts will present the best innovations, including those already-known as well as those still in implementation phase, seen from both the production and commercial points of view. Exhibitors and sponsors will also have the opportunity to introduce their innovations to visitors through dedicated presentations.
"As per the demonstration activities- Trentini adds- we are going to organize areas located in both the greenhouse and the open fields, placed at the disposal of exhibitors who want to demonstrate production machines and equipment (transplanters, bedformers, soil-working and asparagus picking machines, pest control equipment, etc.), whose constructors come from several European countries. Inside the Cesena Fiera pavilion it will be possible to observe operating machines, equipment and materials related to selection and packaging of asparagus. In this case too, the event sees the participation of international exhibitors."
Furthermore, some technical visits will be planned and this will demonstrate how white and green asparagus are produced in Northern Italy, Emilia-Romagna and Veneto regions, in some cases with efficient heating techniques which allow an early harvest.
"We are talking about a global, not to be missed event- Trentini specifies- in which all asparagus producers can find new and important information, transferable and applicable in their own companies. In the past asparagus has often been considered a traditionally cultivated crop, but nowadays we have to reconsider this opinion, as innovations are taking place. More particularly- Trentini concludes- we should notice the introduction of new cultivars, increasingly able to appeal to consumer tastes and also to improve production efficiency, to the advantage of farmers' profit.
