With three months to go before the in-person trade fair Agritechnica Asia & Horti Asia 25-27 May 2022 at the BITEC exhibition grounds in Bangkok, registered exhibitors from 26 countries have celebrated the news last month that quarantine for vaccinated travelers to Thailand is no longer required.
Supported by the official co-host, the Thai Ministry of Agriculture and Cooperatives, and with 300 exhibitors expected, the trade fair’s theme is sustainable production. “More and more countries in Southeast Asia are opening their borders to quarantine-free travel. Seeing these developments, we are looking forward to a high international turnout of exhibitors with so much to offer Southeast Asian farmers,” said Ms. Katharina Staske, managing director of DLG’s office in Thailand.
New: smart farming and seven international pavilions
An important part of Thailand’s sustainable production, precision and smart farming technologies and applications including many from startups will be explored at the new Thailand Smart Farming Pavilion jointly organized with the Ministry of Agriculture and cooperatives.
Smart farming in Thailand and solutions like drone and satellite technology, automation and robotics and working weed robots have already attracted attention at the Regional Summit held in Thailand late last year. The topic of smart farming will be explored further at the Smart Farming Pavilion which will present solutions aimed at all farm sizes.
Seven country pavilions for China, Finland, Germany, India, Japan, the Netherlands and South Korea, each located within the trade fair, will showcase equipment, technical solutions and inputs from global companies to Asia’ farmers in the regions.
New: vertical farming and cannabis production
Located in the horticultural exhibition area ‘Horti Asia’, the new pavilion ‘Vertical Farming’ co-organised by the Association for Vertical Farming (AVF) focuses on the production of plant-based food in urban spaces while the Cannabis Pavilion set up by Thailand Cannabis Industry Association (TCIA) aims to further knowledge in cannabis production, an area increasingly attractive to Thai farmers since its legalization in 2021.
Comprehensive conference programme
The exhibition will be accompanied by about 30 professional sessions on all three exhibition days, exploring topics like “Thailand Cane and Sugar Industries after Covid-19”; “Towards carbon reduced (or neutral) rice production and processing” ; and “Development of Smart Industrial Agriculture Technology in Thailand”. A selection of discussion events will also be held online.
Together with the Department of Agricultural Extension of the Ministry of Agriculture and Cooperatives, guided tours through the exhibition will be offered to invited farmer groups and interested visitors. Tours address topics relevant for the farmers of the region such as efficient water management or post-harvest solutions.
