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Agriculture Reporters
THE 113th edition of the Zimbabwe Agricultural Show got underway yesterday with a climate smart agriculture (CSA) breakfast meeting and a tour of the livestock section making the major highlights of the day as most exhibitors were still making last minute touch ups on their exhibition stands.
The breakfast meeting, which was titled “Climate Smart Agriculture – Sustainable Innovations and Practices” was hosted by the Diplomat Business Networking Club. Lands, Agriculture, Fisheries, Water and Rural Development Deputy Minister Davis Marapira attended the breakfast meeting.
The event, however, got off to a slow start with very few show goers in attendance with exhibitors who managed to display their warehouses indicating that they expected attendance and business to pick up as the week progresses.
This year’s event is running under the theme “Sustained growth. Adaptation. Productivity and Linkages.”
Zimbabwe Agricultural Society (ZAS) chief executive Dr Andrew Matibiri said this year’s exhibitions had attracted more exhibitors than last year with 520 exhibitors including foreign companies from Democratic Republic of Congo, European Union, China, South Africa, Zambia and Malawi having confirmed their participation.
More than 250 000 people are expected to visit the Exhibition Park for the show, which is running from August 28 to September 2.
Farmers who talked to this publication also expressed optimism that this year’s agricultural show would be better than last year’s adding that they it would present them with an opportunity to demonstrate and prove their mettle in agriculture.
ZAS livestock section chairman and executive council member Mr Crispen Kadiramwando said there were 84 cattle, 92 goats and sheep while the rabbits and poultry sections had recorded a decline in the figures.
“This year we are witnessing higher quality animals across the board, which means farmers are doing very well in their animal husbandry practices. There are very good bulls here with one of the exhibiting farmers reportedly refusing to sell his bull for US$50 000 saying it was not enough. That speaks a lot on the quality of the animals we have this year,” he said.
Other exhibitors such as Agric4she under the Ministry of Lands, Agriculture, Fisheries, Water and Rural Development were also busy setting up their stands to showcase women’s produce. Women under the programme will be showcasing their wares in the Julius Nyerere Hall.
Meanwhile, ZAS head of programmes Mr Miriyoni Tawonga observed that he was happy with the first day’s showing, which he rated at 85 percent in terms of success.
He added that exhibitors who were still putting final touches on their exhibition stands were most likely to be through today by mid-morning.
Mr Tawonga also hinted that preparations for the event had been better than last year’s adding that 70 000 square metres of exhibition space had been taken up.
The Zimbabwe Agricultural Show is a key event on the national agricultural calendar showcasing the remarkable talents, innovations and resilience by farmers, agribusinesses and other agricultural stakeholders.
Online Reporter