CEMA–FAO Renew MoU for Sustainable Smart Farming

Brussels, Belgium - The European Agricultural Machinery Association (CEMA)., and the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO)., have renewed their Memorandum of Understanding (MoU), extending a decade-long collaboration aimed at driving sustainable agricultural mechanization (SAM) and innovation in global farming systems.

Since 2015, the two organizations have worked together to promote sustainable, inclusive, and climate-smart mechanization through policy dialogue, technical cooperation, and knowledge exchange. The renewed agreement expands the partnership to include digital technologies and artificial intelligence, supporting efforts to enhance productivity while cutting emissions and easing labor challenges for farmers.

Mr. Beth Bechdol, Deputy Director-General of FAO, said, “In this next phase of the partnership, we will not only continue promoting sustainable agricultural mechanization at the smallholder farmer level but also explore the application of precision and digital agriculture, including artificial intelligence. We will leverage CEMA’s technical expertise alongside FAO’s Science and Innovation Strategy – including our work on safety guidelines for drones and pilots of small agricultural robots.”

Over the past decade, the CEMA–FAO collaboration has delivered several key achievements, including the Framework for Sustainable Agricultural Mechanization for Africa (F-SAMA), CEMA’s Position Paper on SAM presented to the European Commission, and the first agricultural machinery exhibition held during FAO’s Global Conference on Sustainable Agricultural Mechanization (GAMC) in 2023.

Mr. Carlo Lambro, Vice-President of CEMA, said, “Our partnership with FAO underscores CEMA’s commitment to advancing sustainable farming through innovation and collaboration. Agricultural machinery can transform lives, and together we are ensuring that this transformation remains sustainable, inclusive, and beneficial to farmers worldwide.”

Looking ahead, CEMA and FAO will focus on strengthening field-level implementation and expanding data-driven policy support, reaffirming their joint vision for a more productive, resilient, and climate-smart agricultural future.

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