South–North Cooperation for Regenerative Agriculture: Biofertech’s Experience at MACFRUT 2025 in Rimini, in Collaboration with CIHEAM Bari

In a world increasingly shaped by climate instability, soil degradation, water stress, and the urgent need for resilient food systems, South–North cooperation is no longer optional — it is strategic. Regenerative agriculture, climate-smart farming, and soil restoration demand solutions that are both locally adapted and globally interoperable.

At MACFRUT 2025 in Rimini, Biofertech, in collaboration with CIHEAM Bari, had the opportunity to translate this vision into concrete action through a series of high-value business matching sessions with Italian companies, particularly from Sicily and Southern Italy, around soil amendments, regenerative agriculture, and climate-smart agriculture solutions.

This participation reflected more than a presence at an international trade fair. It embodied a broader Mediterranean cooperation framework, where innovation from North Africa and Southern Europe converges around common agricultural and climate challenges, with CIHEAM Bari playing a key role as a bridge-builder between ecosystems, institutions, and agrifood innovation actors.

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A Mediterranean Cooperation Framework Strengthened by CIHEAM Bari

A key dimension of Biofertech’s participation at MACFRUT 2025 was that it took place in collaboration with CIHEAM Bari, whose longstanding commitment to agricultural innovation, food security, capacity building, and Mediterranean cooperation has created a powerful platform for meaningful South–North engagement.

Through this collaboration, Biofertech’s presence in Rimini was not only a business development opportunity, but also part of a wider effort to foster Mediterranean innovation diplomacy in regenerative agriculture. CIHEAM Bari has played an important enabling role in connecting startups, institutions, and private sector actors across the region, helping transform shared agro-climatic challenges into concrete opportunities for co-development.

For Biofertech, this collaboration reinforces a strong conviction: the ecological transition of Mediterranean agriculture must be built through trusted regional partnerships, where science, entrepreneurship, and field implementation move together.

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For Biofertech, MACFRUT 2025 in Rimini, in collaboration with CIHEAM Bari, was more than an exhibition. It was a proof of concept for Mediterranean South–North cooperation in regenerative agriculture.

Through business matching with Italian companies from Sicily and Southern Italy, and within a cooperation framework strengthened by CIHEAM Bari, Biofertech demonstrated that there is strong appetite for:

• innovative soil amendments,

• climate-smart agriculture services,

• regenerative soil restoration models,

• and cross-border partnerships rooted in practical field realities.

The lesson is clear:

When the South and the North cooperate around soil health, resilience, and climate-smart productivity — with institutions like CIHEAM Bari enabling strategic bridges — they do not just exchange products; they build the foundations of a new agricultural economy for the Mediterranean.