Flagship event in the world of fruit and vegetable POs in Europe, find the summary of AREFLH's participation to ICOP 2022

It is essential for AREFLH to participate to the most important events of the fruit and vegetable sector. It is in this spirit that Luca Contrino, European project manager, had the pleasure to attend the 2022 edition of the ICOP, the International Congress of Producers' Organisations, which took place in Weiz (Austria), organised by GFA Consulting, a member of the AREFLH network.

 

The conference took place on 12-13 October 2022, and was attended by European and national officials, representatives of producer organisations, and digital and marketing professionals.

The interventions on 12 October focused on issues related to the new programming, including the state of play of the approval of the National Strategic Plans of the new CAP and the preparation, contents and challenges of some Member States in this process.

The interventions on the second day focused on the current challenges that the fruit and vegetable sector faces and will face in the context of the war in Ukraine and the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Some of the interventions focused on the opportunities for the sector despite the difficulties, particularly in relation to greater integration of computer technology into the business operations of companies, as well as marketing strategies that could generate greater interest in fruit and vegetables among consumers. 

 

The ICOP concluded on Friday 14 October 2022 with technical visits to the Styrian region.
The first visit was to Pessl Instruments, a company from Weiz that develops monitoring instruments for farms, thus positioning itself as a company that is at the forefront of the use of data in agriculture, especially in the areas of pest protection and protection against extreme weather events.

The second visit was to the Haidegg Experimental Station for fruit and wine growing in the Styrian Bundesland (image below). The station works particularly on photovoltaic energy production, apple cultivation and plant protection.

 

 

In addition to the opportunity to learn more about how the fruit and vegetable sector is coping with the challenges of a highly volatile global geopolitical and economic situation and the preparation for the new European agricultural programming period, the ICOP was an opportunity to re-establish interpersonal links between AREFLH and its members, as well as to reflect on the next themes to be addressed within the association.