This morning at the Rimini Expo Center, the Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation, Emanuela Del Re, inaugurated the International Fair of the fruit and vegetable supply chain, MACFRUT 2019, dedicated this year to the African continent and where 200 African economic delegations from 15 different Countries have put their products on display. In her speech, the Deputy Minister dwelled on Italy’s growing attention to Africa, recalling her recent missions, and those of the Prime Minister, to the Horn of Africa and to the Sahel. “Africa’s potential can be fully appreciated – said the Deputy-Minister – only through an integrated approach involving the entire production cycle according to the supply chain approach which is one of our distinctive marks. I am thinking in particular of training skilled labor, of supplying cutting-edge technologies for the processing industry, of upgrading the water supply network, of creating the logistics required to suitably market Africa’s products both within the African Countries and abroad”.
The Deputy Minister pointed out that the Italian agri-food production model (integrated, highly technological and sustainable) could be successfully adopted by the African continent not only in the fruit and vegetable sector but also in the livestock and dairy sectors. She also recalled that Italian Cooperation is continuing its traditional commitment to food safety and agricultural development, thus consolidating Italy’s leadership in promoting inclusive, modern and sustainable agriculture, for the benefit of the many populations that still live in absolute poverty, mainly in rural areas.
The focus on Africa was further developed in the afternoon during the Round Table “Italy-Africa: a Renewed Partnership for Horticultural and Agro-Industrial Development”, opened by the Deputy Minister, with the active participation of the African Ministers and Deputy Ministers of Agriculture. This initiative was part of the follow-up to the Italy-Africa Ministerial Conference held at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs last October
