08 Aug 2018

President Mokgweetsi Masisi is scheduled to officially open the Serowe District Show on Friday.

“We are fortunate to be receiving support from our President as this will be the second opportunity that he has granted us, after having officiated in 2016,” said the show committee vice chairperson, Mr Anthony Phokoletso in an interview, adding that they had invited the President in order to boost the reputation of one of the oldest district shows, which used to attract a large audience, but the public interest waned over the year as a result of some challenges.

Mr Phokoletso noted that the show was in line with the President’s roadmap of creating employment, especially for the youth, which was also part of their mandate as the show had a potential to accelerate growth for local businesses in the country.

Held under the theme; Commercialising Agriculture, he noted that at these challenging times of unemployment, they were thriving towards motivating farmers to venture into commercial farming, which may in turn create employment for themselves and others.

He noted that the agricultural sector had experienced a decline over the past years, adding that at independence, beef formed the country’s main export and largest sector, then later, Botswana’s extraordinary growth was fueled by minerals, particularly diamonds.

“We need to revive our agricultural sector. The majority of farmers are small-scale farmers who need continued assistance in capacity building in order to commercialise agriculture. An effective and vibrant extensive service such as the district show, is an additional input towards improving the performance of the sector and its resilience to market changes,” he said.

Mr Phokoletso said through the show, the business community had the opportunity to share ideas and best practices to enhance their products.

He said although the show was to be officially opened on Friday, the gates were already open, as the show started on Monday and will end on Sunday.

“We are fully booked. All our indoor and outdoor Exhibition stalls are occupied, attracting more than 100 exhibitors from around the country,” he said.

He however indicated that the show was not limited to only agricultural exhibitions as other forms of business were present, including parastatals, and private companies.

He said although their three-year sponsorship by CEDA ended last year, they had received a once-off assistance of P90 000 from the agency, pending negotiations for the next contract. Ends