TehAgroFest: New farm tech meets financial hurdles
Cutting-edge agricultural technology, irrigation drones, and machinery from world-renowned brands are currently on display at TehAgroFest.
Held in an open field in the Tohatin commune, a suburb of the capital, the exhibition gives visitors the opportunity to directly test agricultural equipment and technologies right on the field, in real-world conditions. However, while impressed by the innovations, the high prices relegate some to the role of mere spectators.
Visitors were especially attracted to the agricultural drones used for irrigating fields.
“We sell agricultural drones with a 60-liter tank, currently the largest on the Moldovan and European markets. It's the most productive and efficient, achieving a productivity of 20 to 30 hectares per hour,” said Corneliu Sorbală, a representative of an agrotechnology company.
This year's edition came with some novelties—an 18-row seeder for row crops, and fortunately, the customer for this specific seeder is already here,” mentioned Dragoș David, a director at an agricultural technology company.
The price of an agricultural drone reaches 24,000 euros, while a seeder costs 150,000 euros. Farmers say they want modern machinery, but financial resources are holding them back.
“The technology is high-performing and can't be cheap. And the technologies are much more advanced than in previous years.”
“You need a large amount of land to justify buying this kind of technology.”
“I saw several seeders that use conservation tillage technology.”
“Lots of new technology, but we don't have the money to buy any of it.”
The organizers say that agriculture in Moldova is in an accelerated process of modernization, and the technologies presented define the future of this important sector.
“Our farmers love modernization; the agriculture of the future has arrived in Moldova. I can't say that we are behind; I can say that we have a very great ascent. There are 38 representatives from various companies and fields, but 80% of them work exclusively in the agricultural sector,” declared Ion Scutaru, an organizer at TehAgroFest.
The TehAgroFest exhibition has reached its seventh edition and will be open until August 2nd.
Translation by Iurie Tataru
