12 Jul 2015

The annual Tonota sub-district trade fair, traditionally known as Tonota Agricultural Show, will take place from July 17 -19, the chairperson of the village’s show committee, Mr Motshegetsi Masoba told BOPA in an interview recently.

Mr Masoba said preparations for one of the northern village’s greatest occasions ever were at an advanced stage and that this year, the intension was to make the show as outstanding as possible.

He said the show had in fact evolved from exclusively being agricultural based into an important forum where farmers, investors, and traders converge to promote and increase the sales of their products and services; hence the new ‘trade fare’ tag.

The chief show organiser said the show also provided an opportunity for participants to make new contacts such as acquiring new clients, meeting suppliers, and concluding deals, as well as getting more information on market issues, among other things.

Parades of prize winning livestock such as bulls, goats, sheep, poultry, pigs, and beekeeping, as well as harvests and gardening products will be some of the highlights of the day, including, of cause the display and sale of modern farming and factory machinery, as well as trade stands of various goods and services.

Mr Masoba said, as usual, small time food vendors will grab the opportunity to make a killing by selling all kinds of food to show goers.

He said the big day would be officially opened by the Minister of Agriculture Mr Patrick Ralotsia at the village’s show grounds on July 18 amidst grand displays of choirs, poetry, music, and dance, among other art and cultural activities.

“We anticipate a well-attended show considering the response and support we have received so far from various stakeholders,” he added.

He said the committee would appreciate it if the residents could attend in large numbers because the show was a great day out for the whole family to enjoy themselves in a leisurely way.

Mr Masoba said it was an event which farmers look forward to as it gives them an opportunity to show-case achievements and identifies opportunities in the Agricultural Sector as well as to learn from each other and market their products.

The local animal production officer Mr Godfrey Mathumo stated that agriculture was still at the heart of Batswana, as such, Tonota was only amplifying what many Batswana still hold dear to their hearts.

Mr Mathumo said approximately agriculture absorbed 25 percept of the country`s labour force; therefore it is indispensable to find innovative ways of pursuing agriculture as a business.

He further said the world population continued to increase significantly accompanied by food shortages; as such, to combat the problem as a nation, people should work towards increasing global agricultural production at a faster rate than ever before. Ends