Global trade fair for horticulture, IPM ESSEN will be opening its doors to international partners for expansion accross new markets with wider networking and long-term business opportunities 

Set to be held in Germany from 26 to 29 January 2027, IPM ESSEN will be introducing a new international delegation programme, which will see partcipation from both key and emerging markets. There will be an engaging presentation of products, concepts and innovations in the green sector. The delegation will comprise not only international trade associations and industry organisations but political institutions and economic development agencies as well. 

“IPM ESSEN unites global supply and demand in one place. With the new delegation programme, we are systematically expanding this matchmaking function and creating additional opportunities to connect international IPM participants with one another. This is how personal encounters lead to new projects and long-term partnerships,” said Oliver P Kuhrt, CEO of Messe Essen. 

Participants can take away valuable practical insights from exchanges with horticultural businesses, breeders, nurseries and garden centres in North Rhine-Westphalia.

IPM ESSEN will have a dedicated Innovation Centre Horticulture Technology promoting future-oriented fields such as climate adaptation, resource efficiency, peat reduction, automation and artificial intelligence.

The IPM Discovery Centre will display innovative POS concepts and ensure modern shopfitting ideas for retailers are staged to maximum effect. Exhibitors from all areas of horticulture can tap into easy brand positioning by integrating their products and novelties into high-profile sales concepts. The presentation is practical, trend-oriented and emotive, directly within the application context. 

Cagemax from the Netherlands fulfills an important role as supplier of high-quality animal proteins and fats

In recent years, Cagemax hasn’t only grown its own worldwide business, but also its clients in the aquafeed, compound feed, fertilizers, bioenergy and pet food sectors. Growth is an important theme for Cagemax.

Contributing to the healthy development of many animals worldwide through an assortment of proteins and fats. The company is recognised as a flexible partner that easily adapts to both changing legislations and dynamic market demand. Because one thing never changes: the market calls for quality, competitive pricing and optimal delivery reliability.

Reliable

Where the needs remain the same, the dynamics are constantly moving. Cagemax is the stable factor in a market that’s always changing. Constantly deploying its expertise and extensive network to offer a good price and exceptional quality. Logistics have been mastered down to the last detail and proprietary storage and transshipment facilities are in place. Enabling the team to always meet the fluctuating market demand.

Cagemax stays in direct and continuous contact with many manufacturers so they can always offer customers the choice between different qualities and origins. Tailor-made. Not just in its product range, but also in advice.

The experts are always on top of industry trends and know their products like no other.

Dynamic

This knowledge and expertise were initially limited to ingredients for the pet food industry. Over the years, the business has also expanded its scope to the compound feed, aquafeed, fertiliser and bioenergy industries. On the supply side, Cagemax is able to purchase large volumes. On the demand side, customers can count on an attentive service and high-quality raw materials. The company can cope with the dynamics of the market and has thus managed to bind customers worldwide. Because of the understanding that if you want to be irreplaceable, you must continue to distinguish yourself.

Cagemax understands like no other that quality is the key to success and the continuity of the business. That’s why the company is GMP+ certified and operates in full compliance with the HACCP principles and practices.

Every market has its own quality requirements. For the supply of raw materials for the bioenergy industry, Cagemax has been certified to meet the strict ISCC-EU standards with a SKAL-certificate that guarantees that the delivered biological or bio-organic products are produced under the European and production directives.

We stand for constant product quality. That’s why every incoming load is carefully analysed in an accredited laboratory.

With an eye for quality, delivery, reliability, flexibility and the will to think along with relations, Cagemax has grown out to be the biggest supplier of high-quality animal proteins and fats in Europe.

Agroecology is driving the African Union Commission's food security policies as it calls for increased investments in the sector so that it generates employment opportunities for a growing youth population

Announced during the recently held Africa Regional Youth Summit on Agroecology and the Future of Africa's Food Systems in Kampala, this move will address the continent's food systems to reduce import dependency.

Haile Abebe of the African Union's Comprehensive Africa Agriculture Development Programme (CAADP) who spoke during the summit highlighted the commercial significance of agriculture and how it can be more that just a tool for subsistence.

“Agriculture is no longer simply about producing food. It is about science, technology, entrepreneurship, finance, digital innovation, logistics, processing, manufacturing, trade, climate resilience and value addition,” Abebe said. 

With the right skills and technology, alongside financial means and market access, Africa's predominantly youth population can be channelised towards the region's wider agrifood sector. Prioritising the transformation of agrifood systems requires advancing agroecology.

“Agroecology can be part of this solution. It opens opportunities for young people across the agrifood system - from soil health, seeds and bio-inputs to irrigation, digital agriculture, processing, packaging, logistics, green energy and market development,” said Abebe.

Other opportunities include organic and bio-fertiliser production, ecological seed systems, agroforestry, water conservation, food processing, packaging and marketing.

Highly specialised FederUnacoma machineries for operations in rice fields were on display at the recently concluded Riso – International Rice Festival in Vercelli, organised by the Province and City of Vercelli alongside the National Rice Authority (Ente Nazionale Risi) and Ministry of Agricultural, Food and Forestry Policies (MASAF)

From tractors to levelling machines and weed-control robots, there are technologies dedicated to each stage of production to ensure maximum efficiency. 

With more than 230,000 hectares under cultivation, and of high-quality varieties, rice production drives Italy's agriculture scene. To secure rice generation stability against factors such as drought, low market prices and foreign competition, technology is the most scientific way to manage uncertainties, according to FederUnacoma. The 17 innovative machines on display included tractors powerful and versatile enough to work across ploughing, sowing, irrigation and harvesting.

There were multi-purpose blades for constructing solid embankments designed to consistently maintain water level without leaks or seepage. Levelling blades ensuring uniform water distribution were displayed as well. In addition to these – also on display at RISO’ – were precision seeders, electric telescopic loaders for CO₂-free operation in the field, combine harvesters fitted with specialised harvesting attachments, and reaper-binders for harvesting in dry-farmed rice fields.

An agricultural robot was present demonstrating cultivation operations such as weeding with precision. “The technologies produced by Italian manufacturers are capable of managing rice paddies with extreme precision, complying with the phytosanitary parameters imposed by the European Union, conserving water resources and significantly reducing labour costs,” said Mariateresa Maschio, president of FederUnacoma, “and thus enable production costs to be kept in check in a sector...such as the rice industry, which currently offers low profitability”.

“Our Federation’s presence at the RISO event strengthens our collaboration with the Ministry of Agriculture, Food Sovereignty and Forestry,” said Simona Rapastella, director-general of FederUnacoma, “and forms part of a comprehensive programme which, in recent years, has included exhibitions and machine demonstrations at the main events dedicated to agriculture. This is precisely to highlight how mechanisation is a fundamental tool for the competitiveness of Italian production, and how machinery can be a valuable ally for agricultural businesses.”