aggity at the VI Andalusia Food Congress

The agri-food sector plays a fundamental role in Andalusia’s economy and is one of the region’s economic engines. Maintaining the competitiveness of the Andalusian agri-food industry, in the current context of challenges, requires digitization.

aggity shows at the VI Food Congress of Andalusia how the proposal of Sustainable Industry 4.0 responds to several of the challenges of the agri-food sector.

With the impetus of the Food Business Association of Andalusia -LANDALUZ, on May 9 was held at Caixaforum (Seville) the VI Food Congress of Andalusia, which brought together producers and distributors with the aim of improving the competitiveness of the value chain of this essential economic sector.

As an expert in promoting the digitization of the industrial sector and the agri-food subsector, aggity collaborated in the organization of this meeting, which demonstrated the importance of continuous innovation as a lever for the evolution and progress of agri-food companies.

This was underlined at the inauguration of the Congress by the president of LANDALUZ, Álvaro Guillén, who reviewed the multiple and diverse challenges facing the agri-food sector before emphasizing innovation as the way forward. “to build a strong and cohesive sector that will continue to be the economic engine of the region.”

Sustainable Industry 4.0

The answer to several of the challenges listed by Guillén can be found precisely in aggity’s Sustainable Industry 4.0 proposal, as it responds to several of the challenges faced by companies competing in this sector, including the improvement of production and energy efficiency. It is also a unique proposal in the industrial sector by incorporating energy management in the management of manufacturing plants, as well as in the different processes of the production chain.

Experience shows that this is the way for both producers and distributors, whose resilience has been more than demonstrated in recent years, to remain competitive in an increasingly global and digitized environment.

Agri-food sector in the Andalusian economy

Indeed, the agri-food sector is the jewel in the crown of the Andalusian economy. Suffice it to say that exports of the Andalusian agri-food industry closed 2022 with an all-time record. With a volume of 7,626,639 tons of agri-food products exported, they recorded a turnover of 14,601 million euros, an increase of 13.5% over the previous year.

We must celebrate the milestone and continue to innovate to remain at the forefront in a challenging scenario. This was pointed out by the territorial director of CaixaBank, Juan Ignacio Zafra. “The main keys to the future,” according to Zafra, “will be globalization, the development of technology, with special emphasis on Artificial Intelligence, in addition to water, which will also be a key aspect in the agri-food sector.”

In this context, research and innovation are vital, she recalled. Vice-Minister of University, Research and Innovation of the Junta de Andalucía, Lorena Garrido, and constitute, in fact, “together with digitalization and internationalization, the main axes on which the commitment to the competitiveness of the agri-food sector is based”.

In the area of digitization, the initiative Andalusia 5.0 of the agri-food sector is key and the Regional Government of Andalusia has already drawn up a roadmap with a strategic plan that is expected to mobilize more than 1.7 billion euros to improve the competitiveness of the agricultural, livestock, fishing and agro-industrial sectors, as well as rural development.

The ultimate goal is to turn challenges into opportunities and, again, technology will be key. “The food and beverage industry is firmly committed to innovation; new products and more technified and digitized processes, as well as new technologies are already present in the sector’s daily life”, highlighted in his presentation the general director of the Spanish Federation of Food and Beverage Industries, Mauricio García de Quevedo, who also underlined the work carried out by the “technology platforms such as Food for Life-Spain, led by FIAB, startups, clusters, and all the organizations that participate in Open Innovation”.

Retail distribution challenges

Distribution is a fundamental link in the value chain of the agri-food sector and this was shown by Miguel Ángel Carrascal and Álvaro Sanjurjo, National Purchasing Director and Regional Director of Alcampo, respectively, in their joint speech on the the transformation of the consumer profile and the process of adapting distribution to their needs by means of the conversion of the purchase process into a unique experience.

At aggity we are also prepared to help companies turn this challenge into an opportunity and that is precisely the objective of our agreement with the Andalusian Confederation of Food and Perfumery Businesses (CAEA).

In conclusion, we have the sector knowledge, the experience and the leading technologies and solutions to support the evolution of the agri-food sector. “We are proud,” said aggity’s CEO for Spain, Pablo González, “to add value to the excellence of the agri-food sector, a direct contributor to the national and international prestige of the Andalusia brand and the Spain brand”.