Patrick Chitumba Midlands Bureau Chief
THE 91st edition of the Midlands Agricultural Show ended on a low note on Sunday after only 55 exhibitors turned up for the annual exhibition. The show kicked off Thursday without one of its main attractions, the cattle exhibition, for the second year in a row, following the outbreak of foot and mouth in the province. Midlands Show Society chairman Mr Patrick Chademana said the unavailability of cattle exhibition had negatively affected the number of exhibitors. He also blamed the continued closure of companies in the province for the low turnout.
“Well the show is closing on a low note. We only had 55 exhibitors from the manufacturing and hospitality sectors. ‘‘The rest were small to medium enterprises. We, however, remain optimistic that despite this slow take up of stands this year, next year will be different,” said Mr Chademana.
For the past year the veterinary service has failed to contain FMD resulting in the suspension of cattle trade in parts of the province notably in Zvishavane, Gweru and Mvuma, which are known as the Red Zone districts.
“The cattle exhibition has been suspended due to the outbreak of foot and mouth disease. The veterinary department has failed to contain the disease. “We had wanted to exhibit livestock this year for the first time in almost three years but we later learnt that foot and mouth disease had been detected in some parts of the province.
‘‘Because we don’t want to risk the farmers’ cattle, we decided to forego the cattle exhibition,” said Mr Chademana. The show ran under the theme, “Enhancing Economic Growth in a Dynamic Environment”.
Indian Ambassador to Zimbabwe Mr Rungsung Masakui officially opened the business extravaganza on Saturday where he called for continued partnerships between his country and Harare.-@pchitumba1