ADMA Agrishow Wows Thousands

Article by: Julie Havercroft

The annual Agricultural Dealers and Manufacturers Association (ADMA) show has come and gone.  It was the third successive year this show has been held, and each time, it grows bigger. This show, themed Agrimpact, was on a massive scale, 50% bigger than last year’s offering. The middle of the Borrowdale Racecourse was the 2018 venue and from the off, it promised, and delivered, a spectacle for all who passed through the gates.

Image by Julie Havercroft

Over 150 stands offered displays of latest technology on offer here, in the agricultural sector of Zimbabwe. Seed houses, chemical companies, car and tyre dealers, greenhouse manufacturers, and many others, invited you in to have a chat and view their wares.

Image by Julie Havercroft

Over the course of the three-day show, close to 10 000 members of the public came to take a wander around the show and enjoy a day out. The atmosphere of the show on all three days was electric and the current optimism surrounding agriculture was certainly contagious. While it is held at a time of the selling season when tobacco farmers are still paying back loans, the show is more about networking and showcasing. “It is a once-a-year opportunity for our industry players to interact with our farmers, enabling our farming community to identify and compare products that offer cost-saving advantages and concepts,” says ADMA chairman Marco Garizio.

INDUSTRY CONSTRAINTS

However, there is still a long way to go before everything is back on track and Garizio said the issue of forex allocation needs to be urgently addressed by the Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe, (RBZ). “We acknowledge that the Government, particularly the RBZ, have recognised the priority which our industry should be accorded. This has manifested in giving our goods priority status in terms of access to forex. In spite of this, we are unable to access this forex. The commercial banking sector reserves it to serve the demands of their own priority list.

“We cannot, as members of ADMA, and in the national interests, have machines broken down in the land as we wait for parts currency allocation.”

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