The Alto Adige, a unique agriculture press conference combining tradition and innovation took place on 2nd October 2013 in Bologna. It was the perfect occasion to talk about the next trade fairs planned for the Fiera Bolzano pavilions and about the perfect mix of cultural tradition, administrative regulations and tourist promotion that enable products from Alto Adige to be well-know worldwide.
Reinhold Marsoner, director of Fiera Bolzano, and Massimo Tagliavini (together in the photo below), professor of Tree cultivation and Head of the Science and technology faculty of the University of Bolzano, commented on Interpoma (20th-22nd November 2014), highlighting the main aspects of a way to cultivate that has been taken as an example in many parts of Italy.
Stefano Tagliavini, left, and Reinhold Marsoner.
"A unique fair worldwide, entirely dedicated to a single fruit. A testimony to how the specialisation and excellence of a territory are the perfect basis for a successful trade fair," says Marsoner.
And numbers confirm this: the 2012 edition attracted 16,017 visitors and operators from 61 countries, 13.5% more than 2010, as well as 374 exhibitors from 17 countries. Interpoma and Trentino Alto Adige - a region which alone produces 15% of European apples - are leading in the whole apple world.
"Interpoma represents a product and service fair as well as the perfect chance for operators from all over the world to discuss and share their know-how. In particular, the event aims at spreading the innovative technologies regarding production, processing, storing and marketing," continues Marsoner.
The official inauguration of the 2012 edition.
"Last year, we organised guided tours to apple orchards and to the cooperatives, which were very successful and which we will repeat in 2014. The international caliber convention "La Mela nel Mondo" will also be back, dealing with strategic issues for the sector, especially the major tendencies and apple marketing," concludes Reinhold Marsoner.
Big yields (60 ton/ha on average), good weather and temperature changes favouring colour and crunchiness are not enough. According to professor Tagliavini, the agriculture in this area also benefits from other significant elements.
"First of all, local policies, which enable to maintain the population levels in the country and on the mountains. A peculiarity of the Alto Adige region is the maso chiuso (entailed farm), thanks to which farms can survive because they make sufficient money. In the Bolzano province, very few companies abandoned agriculture in the past 10 years, in fact cultivated areas are the same as they used to."
"A second aspect is cooperation: in the case of apples, there are two cooperatives that sell over 1 million tons of produce, so it was possible to make investments for machinery to select apples and for units to store them. Maschinenring is also getting popular i.e. sharing machinery and instruments."
Another element is the combination of agriculture and tourism: we are talking about 30 million people staying overnight in Alto Adige every year, 12% of which stay in agritourisms. "Farmers benefit from a high social status, which feeds their self-esteem. The president of the Province is an agronomist, just like the mayor of Bolzano."
"The apple network works well- there is a consortium evaluating the varieties before they are launched, a local nursery gardener consortium, a technical advice service, an experimentation centre, a sale and marketing system, a syndicate network and good agricultural schools and technical formation also at a university level."