The 2023 edition of Agrilevante, to be held at the Bari exhibition centre from 5 to 8 October, was presented at the Ciheam of Bari. The technical content of the exhibition is very high and the conference programme is extensive, devoted to agronomy, electronic and robotic technologies, as well as public financing for agriculture and policies for the development of the primary sector in the entire Mediterranean area.
Agrilevante is the place for technologies but also the place for ideas and projects. This was the message that the General Manager of FederUnacoma, Simona Rapastella, launched today at the Mediterranean Agronomic Institute in Bari when presenting the seventh edition of Agrilevante, the biennial exhibition of machinery and technology for agriculture in the Mediterranean area. The event – organised by FederUnacoma in partnership with the Fiera del Levante, with the support of the Puglia Region’s Agriculture Department, and in collaboration with the Municipality of Bari and AIA-ARE Puglia, the universities of Bari and Foggia, and the Ciheam of Bari itself – is a major workshop for the development of the primary economy. Businesspeople and farmers from Mediterranean Europe, the Balkan countries, the Middle East, as well as North and sub-Saharan Africa, will be in Bari – from 5 to 8 October next, in the halls of the exhibition centre – to learn about the most advanced technologies for arable crops, animal husbandry, fruit growing, and above all viticulture and olive growing, but also to investigate the most topical political and economic issues and the development models that are envisaged for this vast region.
The technical depth of the exhibition is underlined not only by the presence at the show of all the best mechanical production for agriculture and gardening, and by the sections specifically dedicated to robotics and the most advanced electronic systems, but also by the FederUnacoma competition for new products with high technological content. “The competition,” noted Rapastella during the presentation, “rewards as Technical Innovations those models, selected by a jury of experts, that introduce completely new solutions or improve already existing technologies, combining production efficiency with environmental sustainability and safety at work”.
The exhibition is structured to cover not only traditional agricultural sectors, but also the livestock sector. This includes specific technologies for livestock breeding and a large area housing hundreds of valuable cattle, horses, sheep, goats and poultry. Together with the New Hall – it was explained at the conference – Halls 19 and 20 will be utilized, while specific open-air areas will be dedicated to digital and robotic technologies and to the trials of the “Contoterzista Driver Trophy” competition promoted by Edagricole. The programme of conventions, meetings, and workshops, organised in cooperation with the University of Bari and Foggia, the Ciheam of Bari, and agricultural and agro-mechanical publishers, is expected to be very rich. Among the meetings with a technical content, those dedicated to olive growing, typical Apulian crops, innovative crops for southern regions, and 4.0 applications specific to Mediterranean crops are already on the calendar. In terms of policies for the sector, meetings have already been scheduled dedicated to the new CAP, NRRP and RDP funding, and education and training, with the aim of identifying new professional profiles and new paths for agriculture and mechanisation.
“All this in a setting with a strong international character,” said Rapastella again, “where great importance will be given to the new structure reserved for official foreign delegations, located behind the Congress Centre, which will be equipped to support business-to-business meetings organised by FederUnacoma in collaboration with the ICE Agency”. “Businesspeople are expected from more than 60 countries,” concluded the FederUnacoma General Manager, “while no fewer than 35 will be official delegations”.

Ending global hunger is an “affordable goal” despite the ongoing food crisis but requires a rethink of development aid and finance, according to a new report.
Analysis carried out by Economist Impact with global agrifoods-focused research partnership CGIAR showed that increases in development funding alone have been insufficient to bring down food insecurity, with almost 670 million people projected to face hunger by 2030.
The report found that too little investment had been directed towards long-term improvements in food production, with less than 7.5 per cent of overseas aid spent on research and innovation to tackle the root causes of hunger and malnutrition in 2021. Almost half of overseas development assistance (ODA) for food and agriculture was spent on food aid.
The report, Ending hunger: the role of agri-food financing, highlighted an estimated funding gap of $33-50 billion a year, of which at least US$14 billion would need to come from ODA. Among its recommendations was a reform of international financing institutions (IFIs), such as the World Bank and IMF, including a reallocation of unused currency reserves known as Special Drawing Rights from high-income countries to low-income countries.
“While humanitarian food aid is a natural response to a crisis, funding research and innovation allows us to break free of the crisis response cycle and build long-term resilience,” said Claudia Sadoff, executive managing director of CGIAR, which supports science, research and innovation for greater food security across the Global South.
“Investment in innovation takes time to bear fruit, but it pays off forever. With urgent action and growing investment, an end to world hunger, and the possibility of sustainable food systems, are within reach.”
As part of the report, the authors interviewed development experts including Prasad Gopalan, Former Global Sector Manager, Agribusiness and Forestry at IFC; Rasmus Egendal, Deputy Director, Government Partnership Division, World Food Programme (WFP); and Saharah Moon Chapotin, Executive Director, Foundation for Food & Agriculture Research.
To increase the volume and impact of funding for more resilient food systems, the report made three recommendations, which included scaling up ODA, tapping new sources of private sector funding, and maximizing existing investments.
The report was published as the World Bank and IMF hold their spring meetings in Washington D.C. amid rising pressure to increase support for low-income countries to address the ongoing food, climate and debt crises.
“IFIs could do more to provide support. There is definitely progress, but not at the pace that we need to see it,” Rasmus Egendal, Deputy Director, Government Partnership Division, World Food Programme (WFP), told the report authors.
“We are not seeing a commensurate increase in investment in longer-term food security. This only adds pressure on humanitarian needs.”
Experts emphasised the disproportionate impact of systemic improvements in agriculture on reducing hunger. For example, a single percentage point increase in annual growth of agricultural production in Nigeria has been found to lift six million people out of poverty. Similarly, giving small-scale farmers modern storage equipment such as hermetic silos and storage bags can reduce food loss by 40 per cent, ensuring more food reaches supply chains.
“Investment in agriculture can be an engine for economic growth [by] alleviating poverty and giving people the ability to purchase the food they need,” said Saharah Moon Chapotin, executive director of the Foundation for Food & Agriculture Research.

About 2.3 million children remain out of school in northern Ethiopia despite last November’s peace agreement ending two years of conflict with reconstruction of damaged buildings yet to commence, said Save the Children, calling for urgent funding to help re-open classrooms.
Across the country more than 3.5 million children are out of school – or 1 in every 16 children – in what has been called one of the world’s worst education crises.
Recent data revealed massive damage to schools across conflict-affected areas of Tigray, Amhara and Afar in northern Ethiopia, according to the latest report from the Ethiopia Education Cluster that comprises the Ministry of Education, Save the Children and UNICEF. The situation is particularly bad in Tigray, where 85% of schools have serious or partial damage, and all public schools remain closed.
As a result of the COVID pandemic followed by two years of conflict, 2.3 million children in the region have been out of school for around three years. 22,500 teachers have gone without pay for more than two years, according to the Ethiopia Education Cluster.
Children who are out of school for prolonged periods are at risk of exploitation, sexual violence, early marriage and child labour and lose their right to an education.
Zinash, 13, is a fifth-grade student at a primary school in Ethiopia’s Amhara region. Her family makes a living through small-scale farming and livestock. As a result of the conflict, her family was forced to flee their home and Zinash dropped out of school for one year. Zinash is now one of the few children who has been able to return to school. She said:
“A year ago, my family and I ran from our village escaping the fighting that broke out here. Houses were destroyed by the conflict and properties were damaged and many people had to flee the area. Now after almost a year, I am able to continue my education and I am in grade five at a nearby primary school.”
Save the Children is running safe spaces where children can receive emotional support and are encouraged to express their feelings through games and role play. The aid agency is also providing books and other learning materials to help children such as Zinash go back to school, but more needs to be done to meet people’s humanitarian needs, including children’s education.
A UN appeal for Ethiopia is only 18.4% funded, which means an additional $3.26 billion USD is desperately needed.
Save the Children’s Country Director for Ethiopia, Xavier Joubert, said “The current humanitarian crisis in Ethiopia is one of the worst in recent memory. Conflict, hunger and the impact of the climate crisis have forced millions from their homes, resulting in countless children being forced to drop out of school.
“It’s essential that school buildings which have been damaged or destroyed by the conflict are fixed, and that unpaid teachers receive an incentive for their work. We are supporting children affected by the conflict to continue learning, but more needs to be done to ensure every last child affected by the humanitarian crisis, including conflict, has access to an education.”
Save the Children has been operating in Ethiopia for over 60 years. The agency was among the first to respond to the humanitarian crisis resulting from conflict in the northern part of the country while continuing humanitarian assistance to the prolonged humanitarian crises in Oromia, Somali and other regions. The organisation focuses on health, nutrition, water and sanitation, protection services, education and cash and in-kind distributions.
In 2022, Save the Children reached about 7.6 million people including about 5.1 million children through life-saving food, water distribution, and treatment for malnutrition among other services.