The 69th edition of the Sant Miguel de Lleida Agricultural Fair will have drought management and also the bioeconomy as its main topics of debate.
This was explained this Wednesday by the patrons of Fira de Lleida during the presentation of the event, which registered an “absolute full house” with 288 exhibitors that will occupy 50,000 square meters of the fairgrounds.
The Sant Miquel Agricultural Fair will be held from September 28 to October 1 and will feature more than fifty parallel activities.
The president of the Chamber of Commerce of Lleida, Jaume Saltó, has highlighted and thanked the sector for its confidence in betting on the Fira de Sant Miquel despite two bad years, first due to frost and now due to drought.
This year the venue had to be restructured due to the remodeling works that have just begun at the Palau de Vidre and which requires the transfer of the food sector that was on display and also the different technical conferences that were being held.
In this pavilion was the food exhibitor area that will be moved to the outside of pavilion 3. Food and Territory, from the Provincial Council of Lleida, will go inside this pavilion, and in pavilion 4 will be the entire exhibition related to bioeconomy and 38th edition of the Eurofruit International Show. The technical sessions that were also held in the Palau de Vidre, are moved to pavilion 4. Outside there will also be agricultural machinery, automotive exhibitors and this year tractor companies.
In the presentation of the competition, this Wednesday in the Palau de Congressos La Llotja, the president of the Diputación de Lleida, Joan Talarn and the delegate of the Government, Montse Bergés, highlighted the opportunity that the bioeconomy represents for the Lands of Lleida .
Within the framework of the fair, the second edition of the BIT Congress on bioeconomy, technology and innovation will be held. Talarn explained that this year one of the topics that will be addressed is forest valorization and alternative protein. “All this _he added_ at a time when Lleida is working to become the ‘hub’ of reference for the bioeconomy of southern Europe.”
Bergés explained that the Government participates in the BIT Congress and also in 15 conferences. Some of them address the “challenges and opportunities” that complicated situations represent for the agricultural sector, such as the current drought.
Finally, the mayor of Lleida, Fèlix Larrosa, has recognized that in view of future editions, it is necessary to rethink the “classic” model of agricultural show that Sant Miquel is currently and move forward “in the line of what is necessary”, with courage added and in line with aspects such as the bioeconomy.
According to Larrosa, it is a “reflection” that comes to him from different areas of the Fira de Lleida patrons and that they will begin to address after the close of the 69th edition of the event.
