Mat South Show Society gets bigger and bigger
NEWLY-APPOINTED Matabeleland South Agricultural Show Society president Councillor George Chipengo has set out a plan to bring more private players operating in the province to support the organisation’s exhibition centre and turn it into a modern arena with prospects of generating more income.
Clr Chipengo who was appointed to the position of president three weeks ago said he would lead a team of officials from the society on an outreach programme next month in a bid to lure companies and farmers throughout the province to exhibit at this year’s show. Prior to his appointment, Clr Chipengo was the society’s exhibition stands conveyor.
He is one of the biggest and most successful farmers in Gwanda District and brings with him a combined 37 years of experience in the mining sector and local authority issues, having worked at Pretoria Portland Cement (PPC)’s Colleen Bawn plant for 30 years and seven years as a councillor at Gwanda Rural District Council. This year’s 60th edition of the show will be held from 17 to 19 August under the theme, “Economic Transformation Through Sustainable Innovations”.
Prior to last year, the Show was known as the Gwanda Agricultural Show but in an effort to encompass all the districts in the province it was renamed Matabeleland South Agricultural Show.
“We intend to rope in the private sector so that they are active as they used to be in the past. We are going on an outreach programme where we will visit a number of mining houses and companies operating in the province with a view of encouraging them to put up pavilions.
“Of course the permanent infrastructure will belong to the Society by virtue of it being within the showgrounds but the individuals or companies have the onus to use the building for a life time. The setting up of pavilions will also improve the status of our exhibition,” he said.
Clr Chipengo said the Foot and Mouth Disease outbreak that have been affecting some parts of the province over the past two years had impacted negatively on the Society’s coffers.
“We have been having financial challenges over the last two years largely due to the fact that we were no longer conducting cattle auction sales at our pens due to FMD outbreaks. Cattle sales were one of our main revenue earners,” he said.
Apart from obtaining revenue through payment of exhibition fees by exhibitors during the fair, the Society also leases its buildings for various commercial activities as well as obtaining rentals from families occupying cottages within the showgrounds.
“Our vision is to get this exhibition centre to be active and to be as modern as possible, starting with the cattle sale pens and get communal farmers to utilise them. The cattle auction sales at our pens will offer competitiveness and that will assist in improving the quality of the stock in the province. We expect to start cattle sales in June and we have already engaged an auctioneering firm to assist us by sprucing up our cattle pens into a modern facility.
“We realised that communal farmers have been getting a raw deal through selling their animals at private sales. As a Show Society we also stand to get a bit of revenue by having the cattle sales conducted at our pens and the Rural District Council also gets a certain percentage which is the cash they use to develop roads as well as rehabilitate dip tanks. So in a nutshell we are trying to revamp agriculture in the province,” said Clr Chipengo.
He said in light of the prevailing liquidity crunch in the country, the Show Society was in negotiations with a financial institution to facilitate partly payment of cash for the animals farmers would have sold at the auction.
“I chair the finance committee at council and lead a team of technocrats around the district thus I am aware of what sort of problems communal farmers face especially failure to realise any meaningful returns from their livestock. These are some of the things we seek to address.
“We are also quite aware that there is a challenge of cash and as such we have engaged a financial partner to at least give $100 or more to those that would have sold their cattle with the rest of the money being paid using various forms of payments,” said Clr Chipengo.
He said the Show Society was also looking forward to having individuals and companies adopting its infrastructure and landscape so as to keep it intact and attractive.
“I am also exploring ways of having some of our corporates and individuals adopting our infrastructure as well as doing the landscaping. This way it will enable the Show Society to reduce the cost of maintaining its infrastructure.
“We also intend to approach a number of companies to assist us in the construction of dormitories to accommodate farmers from various districts in the province that will have brought their crop produce for exhibition at the show. They have over the years been struggling to get accommodation prompting some to be forced to boycott the event,” said Clr Chipengo.
PPC constructed and maintains the farmers’ hall from which the crop produce exhibition is held. Clr Chipengo said a much improved exhibition was expected this year following good rains that were received throughout the country.
“We are expecting a bigger and better Show this year. As far as crop produce is concerned we are expecting a very big show but we aren’t likely to see much competition on the livestock section largely due to the fact that we are coming from recurrent droughts thus the animals’ conditions won’t be at its best, probably next year,” he said.
Clr Chipengo said the Show Society would start preparations for this year’s Show before the end of this month.
“As from next week we intend to start distributing fliers as our part of our advertisement campaign for this year’s Show. We are also going to be moving around in all the districts in the company of the Department of Agricultural Technical and Extension Services extension officers encouraging farmers to come and exhibit. Already some commercial livestock farmers have promised to bring their animals for the exhibit,” he said.