Thursday 16 will see the inauguration of FuturPera which stays open until Saturday 18 Preview on 15 November at the Fondazione Navarra in Ferrara, with Italian and international experts discussing agricultural techniques
FERRARA – The countdown has begun until FuturPera, the World Pear Fair, opens its doors on Thursday 16 November at Ferrara Fiere. Three days completely dedicated to promoting Italian and international pair growing, an opportunity for discussion within a sector that is starting to grow again and embrace innovation, also due to the “notoriety” that it is gaining in the media and therefore in the eyes of consumers. The fair will have a fundamental role to play in improving the production and commercial aspects of the supply, present in its entirety at the exhibition part and during the two important conventions of the World Pear Forum, organized in association with CSO Italy.
While the Ferrara Fiere pavilions will be officially open from 16 to 18 November, there will also be an interesting technical preview, reserved for operators in the industry, on Wednesday 15 November at the Fondazione Fl. Navarra in Ferrara. It will offer the real possibility for discussion in the field on fruit tree treatment, fertilization and pruning, with Italian and international experts, who will take their experience the following day to the World Pear Forum. For Chile, a country that is just introducing the production of the Abate variety, the agronomist Mauricio Navarro will be taking part; for South Africa Christo Strydom, General Manager of Wolseley Fruit Packers, an important company that exports pears and fruit all over the world, and for Italy Lauro Simeoni from Fruit Net System and Albano Bergami, Deputy Chairman of Oi Pera, both important pear growers.
The official inauguration of FuturPera will take place on Thursday 16 at 13.00, in the presence of: Simona Caselli, councillor of Agriculture, hunting and fishing for the Emilia-Romagna Region; Tiziano Tagliani, the mayor of Ferrara; Stefano Calderoni, the Chairman of FuturPera, Gianni Amidei, the Chairman of Oi Pera - Organizzazione Interprofessionale Pera and Filippo Parisini, the Chairman of Ferrara Fiere. There will also be representatives of the production supply chain, the agricultural associations - Cia, Coldiretti and Confagricoltura - and the main sponsors of the event: A&A, a leading insurance broker; BPER Banca, the head of one of the top Italian banking groups and the Chamber of Commerce of Ferrara.
Visitors – of which there were 8,000 in 2015 – will find a specialised exhibition awaiting them, with over 120 companies from the strategic sectors for pear growing: nursery and variety innovation, fertilizers, biostimulants, crop protection products, seeds and, naturally, a wide range of technical equipment for orchard management, harvesting, post-harvest processing, packaging and logistics. The main grower groupings – Opera and Origine Group – will also be present, as well as important commercial players.
The conventions organised are also of great interest, starting from the two international World Pear Forum conventions with a first day dedicated to improving production of the most important Italian variety, entitled: Abate Fetel: increased yields for better productivity. World operators debating on the top Italian cultivar”. The second day of the commercial forum will include a convention on: “Market and consumption: new trends and future challenges”. The training and technical part offered by exhibitors is also substantial with content including sustainable nutrition for fruit trees, use of biostimulants, risk management in agriculture and containment of the brown marmorated stink bug. There will also be space for the taste and versatility of pears in cooking featuring the Cooking Pear Show, an event organised by CSO Italy.
This year there will also be a considerable contribution by foreign operators, starting from the large exhibitors, to the speakers taking part in the World Pear Forum, and buyers from potential importing countries both within Europe (Germany and Spain), and outside the EU (Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Qatar, Bahrain, Dubai). Their presence is important for an event that aims to become the reference point for world pear growing.
Then, from 13 to 20 November, there will be many events in the historic centre of Ferrara for tasting and discovering pears in cuisine, as part of the “La Città del gusto” event.