“Cibus is a safe bet”, stated Giancarlo Giorgetti, Minister of Economic Development, visiting Cibus in Parma. “Doubts were many when we decided to organise this exhibition four months ago. As a Government political authority, we must thank all the people who accept to make these bets and enable the country to win them”.
And the figures of the 20th edition of Cibus are self-explanatory: two thousand exhibiting companies, almost 40 thousand visitors of which 2 thousand from foreign countries.
“The main international players who could not come sent their sourcers and brokers – reported Antonio Cellie, CEO of Fiere di Parma – in order not to miss the opportunity of discovering the many innovations on display. Because this is what Cibus is about: the innovation power of our agri-food industry that meets the growing world demand for authentic Italian products”.
The satisfaction of stakeholders was underlined by Gino Gandolfi, Chairman of Fiere di Parma: “This edition of Cibus has fully achieved its targets. The satisfaction expressed by exhibitors, members of Federalimentare and Protection Consortia confirms that CIBUS 2021 is a bet that has been won by the agri-food community. I would also like to highlight the attention of the political world through the participation of three Ministers and the key players of the supply chain: agriculture, industry, Retail and Horeca channel. Following this success, we are already working on a record edition of Cibus to be held in Parma from 3 May 2022”.
The fourth and last day of Cibus saw the organisation of the World Food Research and Innovation Forum that analysed the impact of the climatic, digital and social transitions on businesses. “Consumers are very keen on these issues – stated Minister Giorgetti in his speech – but we must be realistic and responsible in protecting our national interests, being aware that our decisions have a tangible impact on the daily life of our companies”.
The World Food Research (promoted by the Emilia-Romagna Region and by the Universities of Bologna, Parma, Modena e Reggio Emilia, Ferrara, Università Cattolica and other bodies) saw the contribution of Erika Andreeta, Partner of PwC Italy: “If we want to fully exploit the benefits of the financial resources made available by Institutions and want to continue being competitive in the global scenario, it is essential to profitably invest in training through projects targeted to the development of skills for an informed use of new technologies by the sector operators”.
The conference “Innovating or decreasing” organised by the University of Parma and Le Village by CA Parma was also held on Cibus’ last day. The University brought to Cibus new players of the sector in the academic world with 16 research groups that were available for series of one-to-one meetings. Talking of innovation, CIBUS saw the participation of SMILE (Smart Manufacturing Innovation Lean Excellence centre), the Digital Innovation Hub set up in Parma to enable the technology transfer between University and industry, to support SMEs in digitalising operations and implementing innovative and lean methods in line with Cyber-Physic systems (CPS) and industrial Internet of Things (IoT) applications.
In the area dedicated to local START-UPs of Le Village by CA two innovative businesses were present in the food sector: Future Cooking Lab, spinoff of the Laboratory of Gastrophysics of the University of Parma founded by Davide Cassi, father of molecular cuisine, set up with the mission of innovating gastronomy, and DNAPhone, innovative SME that designs, develops and sells technological solutions to measure chemical parameters via portable optical devices integrated with smart and mobile technologies.