One of the main thematic axes of the first edition of DEMOCITRUS will be how to increase productivity and efficiency in citrus harvesting and reduce labor dependency and high operating costs. The slogan for this first edition is ‘Optimizing the profitability of citrus crops’ and the event will revolve around this crop's innovation and sustainability. The event, organized by IFAPA in collaboration with Agromillora, will be held at the facilities of the IFAPA Las Torres Center in Alcalá del Río (Seville) on January 31. The event promises to become a reference for the sector with the attendance of more than 500 professionals.
DEMOCITRUS 2024 will feature
technical talks, practical demonstrations in the field, networking opportunities, and an extensive area of commercial stands with the participation of more than 30 leading companies in the sector.
Technical program
The technical presentations will take place in the morning and will start with a round table that will focus on agriculture's global context and that will address the ‘European Green Deal: a change in the productive paradigm’. Tomás García-Azcárate, a renowned CSIC researcher, will participate in the round table. Afterward, there will be another round table, which will focus on citrus farming and, in particular, on ‘Consumption, threats, opportunities and challenges of the future’.
Juliano Ayres (Fundecitrus Brazil manager), Ricardo Serra (president of Asaja Andalucía), Javier López Esparza (president of Asociafruit), Antonio Carmona (president of Palmanaranja), Lorenzo Reyes (president of the Association of Citrus Growers of Huelva), Cristóbal Aguado (president of Ava-Asaja Valencia) and Antonio Moreno (industrial director of J. García Carrión Spain) have already confirmed their participation in this discussion.
Next, there will be a Technological Innovation block that will analyze new production models and technologies that respond to the sector's economic and environmental sustainability needs. Francisco J. Arenas (researcher and director of IFAPA Las Torres), Ignasi Iglesias (technical director of Agromillora Group), Eduardo Girardi (Embrapa Brasil researcher), and Javier Hidalgo (managing partner of Frutos Moratalla) will participate in this block.
The day will continue with another block dedicated to Varietal Innovation that will focus on added value for citrus growers and innovation for consumers. The speakers for this block are María Ángeles Forner (IVIA researcher), José Cuenta (AVASA technical director), José Pellicer (Eurosemillas development director), David Alba (Genesis Innovation director), and Charo Marín (GCM technical director).
After this block, the field demonstrations will begin and the attendees will be able to visit the stand area, which will be open until 5.30 pm. The companies that participate in the stand area will offer and make demonstrations on mechanical and platform orange harvesters, pruners, sprayers, the handling of decks and pruning remains, sensor equipment, drones, and vegetable and agro-textile decks, among other things.
For more information:
Democitrus
https://democitrus.com