Organic farming can reinvent itself by exploring innovative strategies and approaches to attract consumers and increase demand for organic products. This was the focus of a conference at medFEL 2024. Despite years of growth, the consumption of organically grown products has plateaued. In France, the organic fruit and vegetable market experienced a slight decline in 2023 compared to 2022, with a 9% drop. To revitalize the organic farming sector, it may be necessary to introduce new marketing campaigns, improve distribution channels, enhance product quality, and engage in sustainable practices that appeal to modern consumers. read more

Within a few days, another full Irrifarm system for remote management and monitoring of irrigation and fertigation will be operational in a 40-hectare pomegranate orchard in Puglia. Pan Agri, a specialist in irrigation automation, is finalizing a control panel featuring three tanks. read more

The Brazilian chain Atacadão is expanding to France. The first cash-and-carry discount store, a Carrefour franchise, is set to open in mid-June in Aulnay-sous-Bois. The warehouse store, covering an area of 10,000 square meters, will be operated by Carrefour's partner LabelVie under a management lease. read more

Chiquita is investing in logistics. In Cortenuova, in the province of Bergamo, they have inaugurated the largest banana ripening center with the blue sticker in Europe, located within the logistics hub of the operator Gi.Ma.Trans. The technological facility features 24 ripening cells spread over 5,000 square meters. read more

For producers and exporters grouped in FEPEX, varietal innovation has been decisive for the development of the sector and is becoming increasingly important. Plant breeding not only aims to increase productivity, but also seeks, among other objectives, the obtaining of

read more

On Thursday afternoon, the ordinary and extraordinary meetings of the members of the consortium company "Distretto Produttivo Agrumi di Sicilia" took place, gatherings that were full of content and significant news for the Sicilian citrus fruit sector. read more

The Rama Agriculture and Industry Innovation Center, an aquaponics farm, was opened in a northern province of Iran by Rouhollah Dehghani Frouzabadi, the Vice President for Science, Technology, and Knowledge-Based Economy. The aquaponics farm was established with the aim of combining agriculture and industry for sustainable development. read more

Ontario is heading towards becoming a year-round supplier of apples harvested throughout the year. This statement comes from Brian Rideout, the newly elected chair of the Ontario Apple Growers association. Rideout, a grower with Manitree Fruit Farms, emphasized, "Our capacity to cultivate apples has increased." read more

At the ParmaFood Group at Cibus in Parma, in addition to presenting the new references on ready-made dishes, they also focused on innovations related to the assortment in the Fresh Ideas line, with products based on fruits and vegetables or very fresh products, processed in HPP. read more

The 2024 International Symposium on Food Safety and Control will take place at the IAEA headquarters in Vienna from May 27 to 31, bringing together efforts to safeguard food supply chains and enhance defenses against threats to food security and trade. The symposium has been organized by the IAEA and ... read more

Positive results for this year's trade fair edition: During the three days, 56,200 entries were recorded in the exhibition halls of the Rimini Expo Center, a +13% increase compared to the previous year. More and more operators and foreign buyers, as well as scientific events with international participation. read more

South Australia-based organic vegetable grower Eldridge Fresh Organics has utilized artificial intelligence (AI) to monitor and track the complete production chain of vegetables in real-time, digitizing the entire process. read more

The topic is one of the hottest as it concerns patents and the protection of varietal innovation. This theme was explored at Macfrut in the conference "The varietal innovation chain in fruit growing: patents, forms of protection, and models of commercial development," promoted by SOI. read more

Varietal innovation is increasingly becoming a key for development in the fruit and vegetable sector, and the issue of patents and their protection is one of the hot topics. The theme was explored in depth, with a discussion involving the academic world, researchers, and businesses, at Macfrut during the conference on the supply chain. read more

As a leading company in the fruit and vegetable market, SanLucar is a service partner of VfB Stuttgart starting from this current Bundesliga season. The premium brand is now expanding its collaboration in professional sports with partnerships such as being the Freshness Partner of the Berlin Ladies Open. read more

The Xiamen Tangchao Horticultural Breeding Center is getting ready for the 2024 Xiamen International Flower Trials, with the goal of showcasing top-tier flower varieties. By utilizing advanced climate control technology from Svensson, they are focused on providing high-quality seedlings and optimizing greenhouse conditions. read more

UK: Morrisons staff strike in pensions row
Approximately 1,000 Morrisons employees in West Yorkshire and Cheshire have initiated strike action due to disagreements over pensions and take-home pay. Workers at the company's warehouses in Wakefield and Northwich are participating in the industrial action, which commenced at 05:00 BST. read more

SDF is launching Stockflow, a solution that allows growers to effortlessly manage both plants and stock items. "It transforms the way you manage your warehouse or distribution site," the team says. "Whether it's supplied from internal locations at one nursery or collected centrally from." read more

A new partnership between the University of Essex and a prominent onion supplier, Stourgarden, will involve researchers attempting to grow the vegetable using non-traditional soil-based methods... inside a bright pink shipping container. Professor Tracy Lawson from Essex's School of Life Sciences will be leading this initiative. read more

The success of Macfrut, as evidenced by the record number of attendees and supported by participants' comments, confirms how important it still is for the entire supply chain to meet in person, to network (and do business), share, discuss, and delve into all the relevant topics. read more