The newly appointed committee of the annual Ghanzi Agricultural Show has hit the ground running in preparation for the event to held next month.
Established in 1974, the 49th edition of the showpiece will be held in the beef town of Ghanzi from July 24th to 29th at the Ghanzi Showgrounds and will as is norm, afford farmers and other stakeholders a platform to showcase their products and services – reflecting the potential of Botswana’s agriculture sector.
The new chairperson Thuso Mackenzie told The Ngami Times that preparations were well underway for the event, adding that they already had interactions with potential sponsors of the event.
He said they will soon reveal sponsors and partners for the show and promising a bigger and improved show this year.
The recently appointed committee also include Bonang Mokgwatleng as vice chairperson and Thuto Galase as an additional member.
Meanwhile this year’s Show is expected to attract many farmers, both locally and international, and one of the major attractions will be the fact that one of the local farmers’- Christian Lemcke’s cow was crowned 2022 world champion in the Ms Asia Cattle competition that was held in Asia.
The cow, ‘Droughmaster Miss 19 153’ made Botswana home to one of the very best breeds in the world and an award at the world’s largest livestock show was true recognition that set standards high for improved cattle rearing. The win also profiled Botswana as a farming country of note.
Meanwhile one of Ghanzi’s seasoned farmers and former legislator, John Swartz has previously called on local farmers to invest more into farming and utilise the show to showcase their products. Swartz is convinced that the show plays a critical role in ensuring that there are clear plans on how the sector could utilise its human resource to grow it adding that it is also critical to share information with stakeholders under one roof.
Swartz noted that the Special Economic Zones Authority (SEZA) which headlined sponsors of last year’s show is of paramount important to farmers because they are the ones tasked with developing key sector of the economy as a way of boosting economic development and employment creation.
He noted that SEZA works closely with the Ministry of Agriculture to ensure that support programs like LIMID and ISPAAD are fully utilized to increase output and support the sector.
Meanwhile President Mokgweetsi Masisi is expected to officiate at this year Show.
