RURALL IS LAUNCHED: THE FIRST DIGITAL INFRASTRUCTURE AND PLATFORM DEDICATED TO THE AGRIFOOD INDUSTRY THROUGHOUT ITALY

Project partners: Antares Vision Group, BF Spa, Bluarancio and SDF

Travagliato (Brescia), 30/07/2021 – Antares Vision Group, a leading global provider of hardware and software Track & Trace solutions (anti-counterfeiting and supply chain transparency) and one of the major players in inspection systems (quality control) and in smart data management (maximized production efficiency and end-to-end digitalization of the supply chain, from raw materials to the final consumer), announces the signature of an agreement with three strategic partners – BF S.p.A., the most important agro-industrial group in Italy, Bluarancio S.p.A., an Information Technology company leader in the creation and management of platforms for the Italian agricultural sector, and SDF S.p.A., one of the world’s leading manufacturers of tractors, harvesting machines and diesel engines – for the launch of RurAll S.p.A., a recently established company in which the partners hold equal shares, the purpose of which is to build:

1. a digital infrastructure of rural territories, by exploiting digital technologies to increase the yield and land management on a large scale and/or provide advisory services focused on the digitalisation and/or development of dss platforms and software and other systems for data analysis and distribution, known as Agriculture 0 (the “Infrastructure Project”);
   
2. a digital platform (the “Platform”), which by adopting emerging technologies such as IOT, AI, Big data and Blockchains, for the end-to-end traceability of agrifood products, from the origins of the raw materials, their progression through the supply chain, to the final consumer, with a view to enabling the introduction of a “smart label” able to certify authentic “made in Italy” products, and the sustainability of the entire supply chain and of the production and distribution processes, from a social, economic and environmental perspective (with clear pre-established criteria on the ingredients used and on the main characteristics that the supply chain must have, especially in terms of value distribution and the use of manpower, in order to obtain the issue of the “made in Italy” guarantee) (the “Traceability Project” as well as, jointly with the Infrastructure Project, the “Project”).

The vision objective seeks to accelerate the digital infrastructure of rural territories, by exploiting digital technologies to increase the yield and the management of the land on a large scale, promoting supply chain transparency and sustainability.

The aim of the project as a whole is to render the entire Italian Agrifood industry, which is fundamental to the domestic economic system and consequently all consumers, more efficient, to guarantee its quality and to protect it from counterfeiting.

The initiative envisages:

1. promoting the Project through the main Italian producers, large and small, with specific regard to the productive excellence that Italy boasts:
2. promoting and extending the use of digital and sensor technologies to precision agriculture methods and practices;
3. encouraging the use of the Traceability Platform as a means to guarantee future supply chain contracts;
4. promoting and involving final consumers in Italy and abroad for the informed use of smart labels;
5. encouraging the involvement of the major stakeholders interested in the Project, such as:
   1) legislative bodies to introduce provisions that encourage the development of precision agriculture together with the obligation to provide both the label of origin and smart labels, through the use of serialised codes that the consumer can easily read with his smart phone, encouraging digital transformation towards the concept of Smart Products;
   2) accreditation bodies of certification entities with a view to creating certification schemes based on the use of emerging technologies;
   3) government and private entities for the promotion of international trade;
   4) trade associations, including consumer associations;
   5) supply chain operators (farmers, transformers, distributors);
   6) foreign operators (large-scale retail, final consumers, influencers).

Lastly, the proposed corporate operation, which envisages an investment in RurAll by the four partners, is structured as follows:

• the subscription, by 29 July 2021, of a share capital increase, by BF Spa in the amount of Euro 1,450,000, and by each of the other investors in the amount of Euro 1,500,000 – for a total of Euro 5,950,000 – so that, once the same has been executed, and considering the capital amount already paid in by BF Spa at the time of the incorporation of RurAll, each party will hold a quota representing 25% of the company’s share capital;
• the immediate payment of 25% of the amount respectively subscribed by each party;
• the payment of 75% of the amount respectively subscribed by each party, when the same will be requested by the Board of Directors of RurAll based on the company’s investment development