From 30 September to 2 October 2025, POMATO participated in FRUIT ATTRACTION 2025, the international trade fair hosted by IFEMA and FEPEX at IFEMA Madrid (Spain). Bringing together the fruit and vegetable sector across production, trade, logistics, packaging, and ag-tech, the fair gathered an estimated 120,000 participants from around the world. The event provided a high-visibility forum to connect with growers, industry representatives, technology providers, and other stakeholders across the value chain.

POMATO’s presence aligned with WP6 – T6.2 (Public outreach and case-study promotional campaigns) and the clustering objective to raise general awareness. FUNDITEC hosted a stand featuring a POMATO roll-up and project leaflets, presenting our work on integrated pest management (IPM) and early detection/surveillance tools for potato and tomato. Team members Christian Ghidelli, Belinda Pérez, Chiara Assirelli Pandolfi, and Raquel Moratalla (among others) engaged visitors throughout the fair, with support from EUROPATAT, CBGP, and UBU.

The fair offered an effective setting to communicate how POMATO’s results can translate into practice—helping growers reduce reliance on chemical pesticides, strengthening early detection capacity across the supply chain, and informing decision-making with accessible, science-based guidance. The format fostered exchange between industry and research actors, complementing our WP6 efforts and paving the way for follow-up actions on the Multi-Actor Participatory Platform.

Participation and outreach extended across the project’s stakeholder spectrum: conventional and organic potato and tomato growers/breeders/trader; input-related industry; technology and innovation actors; end consumers; and the media and general public. Initial feedback suggests growing interest among these groups, reinforcing the strategic value of international clustering events for POMATO’s dissemination and exploitation goals.