CEMA AISBL is the association representing the European agricultural machinery industry. With 10 national member associations, the CEMA network represents both large multinational companies and numerous SMEs active in this sector.
The industry comprises about 7,000 manufacturers, producing more than 450 different types of machines with an annual turnover of about €40 billion (EU28 – 2016) and 150,000 direct employees. CEMA companies produce a large range of machines that cover any activity in the field from seeding to harvesting, as well as equipment for livestock management. CEMA AISBL’s mission is to work towards a balanced legislative and regulatory framework in the EU that:
- supports the competitiveness of the industry in Europe
- enables the industry to provide smart solutions to help farmers worldwide to grow food affordably and sustainably
- promotes a deeper understanding of the European agricultural machinery industry among EU decision-makers, regulators and stakeholders.
Exchanging knowledge & increasing awareness raising on Precision Farming techniques in Europe have been firmly placed as a priority on CEMA AISBL’s agenda in the last years (see the latest policy priorities). To explain the benefits modern agricultural technologies can bring into EU agriculture, CEMA AISBL has been coordinating regular events and high-level conferences to bring together industry experts, key EU decision-makers and farmers’ representatives to share their views on the state of play Precision Farming has in Europe today. Discussions on bottlenecks precision agriculture encounters in Europe have helped to align views among the farming community and assess those policy options e.g. CAP, research funding, Agriculture 4.0, that could greatly encourage a further technology uptake in European agriculture in the years to come. Some of these events:
- Smart equipment for sustainable agriculture – Precision Farming: producing more with less. European Parliament, October 2013.
- Farm visits, 2015-2016.
- Agriculture 4.0 – Smart Farming in the cloud, October 2017 and September 2016.
- Smart Equipment for Sustainable Agriculture, European Parliament, February 2019.