EIMA 2026 in Bologna: From Heavy Ploughs to Components and Digital Solutions

On the second day of the EIMA 2026 agricultural machinery show in Bologna, Italy, journalists from the Polish portal Farmer.pl toured halls showing a broader cross-section of the Italian machinery industry rather than only the biggest tractor launches. The show illustrates the weight Italian manufacturers carry in European farm mechanisation.

Machinery and components

The exhibits included sprayers, feed mixer wagons, soil-tillage machinery and a large number of components: pumps, gearboxes, hydraulic systems, as well as navigation and precision-farming elements. Ploughs took up a lot of space, including large, heavy models, alongside cultivators and disc harrows. Orchard sprayers were singled out as typical of the Italian market. Among the main launches, the stand of Argo Tractors featured the new McCormick X7 and X8 tractors and several Landini models.

Irrigation and the Asian pavilion

Irrigation systems filled three whole halls. They attract exhibitors and visitors from Africa and the Middle East, where efficient water use is especially important. Meanwhile, Pavilion 11, with Chinese and Indian manufacturers including Avenger, ACE, YTO and Lovol, sits far from the main exhibition area, behind the railway tracks. A representative of the Indian brand Avenger openly expressed dissatisfaction that there were far fewer visitors than expected.

Digitalisation and cybersecurity

The Digital Terrace presented farm management and data analysis solutions, including the Bluleaf platform from Sysman Progetti & Servizi, used by more than 2,000 users. The EU Cyber Resilience Act, which sets security requirements for products with digital elements, was also discussed. It entered into force on 12 November 2024, and its main obligations will apply from 11 December 2027.

Young farmers

At a conference organised by Edagricole, citing Eurostat and Italy's statistics office Istat, it was noted that people under 40 run about 12% of farms in the EU, but only 7.9% in Italy. Nearly every second farm manager in Italy is over 65. The European Commission aims to double the number of young farmers by 2040, but access to land and financing remains a problem.