CHINHOYI – THE Mashonaland West Agriculture show kicked off at the show grounds
with a huge number of farmers showcasing products as compared to last year.
Mashonaland West Provincial Society Acting General Manager, Innocent Bodzo, said
the huge turnout of farmers was a great improvement on last year numbers.
“We had a very good turnout of farmers to the extent that up until Thursday afternoon
the farmers were still putting their produce into our halls. It is quite a good turnout,
because last year, we only had about a hundred farmers and this year we have more
than a hundred,” said Bodzo.
First time exhibitor, Mai Karombe, a farmer from Mutorashanga, said she was happy
and looking forward to be chosen as the best.
“I’m happy that I have finally made to the show as it is my first time. I am showcasing
my high tobacco leaves, maize and pumpkin. Hopefully I will be chosen among the best.
I am also looking forward to learn from other farmers, and expert in the industry,” said
Karombe.
The show officially started on July 26 and will be running until July 29. This year is the
76 th Edition and is running under the theme “Adoption of Smart Farming-Going for
Growth”.
The official opening of the show was moved to Saturday and the guest of honour is the
Governor of Kavango East in Namibia, Bonifatius Wakudumo.
“The official opening will be held on Saturday and will run from morning up to 3pm. After
that it will be entertainment till late,” said Bodzo.
The show day started on Wednesday with the Namibian delegation visiting farms in
Chinhoyi and Banket.
Bodzo said there was a slight increase in the number of exhibitors as they had 69
companies exhibiting, which is more compared to last year.
“The show started on a high note yesterday with quite a number of exhibitors. The
number of exhibitors is slightly higher than that of last. So, it is quite encouraging
although the improvement is small, but there is an improvement,” said Bodzo.
There are a number of new exhibitors including the likes of Zimbabwe Mercantile
Exchange and all other rural councils in the province. There are also some exhibitors
who had stopped because of the Covid-19 pandemic.
Bodzo highlighted some of the activities which took place from the opening day of the
show which were of paramount importance and educative.
“Yesterday was mainly about setting up and stakeholder to stakeholder engagement.
Today (Thursday) we had Agribusiness conference which took place. It was a very
fruitful engagement and it was a huge success.
“We had presentations from number of stakeholders but most importantly was a
presentation from Agritex representing Zimbabwean Government side and also we had
a presentation from representative from the Namibian delegation that is in the country to
visit the show.”
One highlight on Friday was judging of the stands and the exhibitor’s cocktail. There
was also entertainment lined up during the day but most of the entertainment was on
Saturday.
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