ISAM has had representation of the students of the third edition of MIAM in the event of Fruit Attraction 2023 in Madrid, the largest agri-food fair in Europe that brings together different companies in the horticultural and fruit sector.
The main objective of the three-day event was to facilitate contact between the different agro-leaders in order to consolidate itself as a framework for innovation in the fruit and vegetable market. In this way, it also served as our first contact with large, medium and small companies in Spain, especially in the region of Andalusia.
Networking at Fruit Attraction with the ISAM’s CEO
On the first day of the fair Germán Fernandez guided us through the pavilion of Andalusia, this year’s guest region. He introduced us to the different leaders in this sector, from companies such as UNICA, the first Spanish agro-exporter of vegetables, to Fresón de Palos, the largest producer of strawberries and berries. We not only had the opportunity to meet them but also to ask them about the main challenges in their sector. As well as producers and agro-exporters, we spoke with representatives of Agrobio, a biological control company, and the large Swiss agrochemical producer Syngenta, which is present in the region.
On the second day we met with the value chain manager of the International Seed Association (ISF), Benjamin Rivoire. This meeting motivated us to be more proactive about the problems of the agro-sector and to implement the knowledge we find in our educational journey in our own countries. Benjamin also shared his experiences of each of our countries in relation to the agricultural world, from Peru, Rwanda to India.
This is how I lived the experience with my Agri MBA classmates
Being our first event as a class, we were a little intimidated at first by the variety and number of pavilions. For my international colleagues, the language barrier was a challenge that they were able to overcome as we explored the wards.
One particular interaction we shared was when we were relaxing in the food court chatting about microgreens and sustainable agriculture. At that moment, the person next to us wanted to join our conversation and turned out to be the general manager of GURBAN, a start up dedicated to sustainable urban agriculture. He invited us to see his company and, although we were not able to visit, we were able to exchange information to learn more about his business in the recent future.
We also visited the different pavilions present at the fair. The one that caught our attention was the Latin American pavilion, which brought together the different countries of the region that had ties with European companies, both in the agro-export and investment sectors. It gave us the opportunity to learn more about this area in our own countries.
Conclusion on my experience at Fruit Attraction
Indeed, the Fruit Attraction event was a great opportunity for us as students to learn and inform ourselves first-hand about the job opportunities in European agriculture, especially in the region of Andalusia. This will allow us to collaborate together in the future and inspire us to be future agri-leaders.
If you are interested in being part of our community of future agri-leaders and attending such events, visit our Master in International Agri-business Management to learn more about the programme.
