Photo: Lindi Botha
Now in its eighth year, this year’s show placed a strong emphasis on helping the province’s small-scale vegetable farmers improve production to supply to the nearly completed Mpumalanga International Fresh Produce Market.
The market was built to provide small-scale farmers in the province with a trading platform but has come under criticism since farmers who are able to supply the market are few and far between.
Lyzelle van Wyk, manager of the Mpumalanga Show, told Farmer’s Weekly that a roadshow was undertaken over the past year to understand how many small-scale vegetable farmers there were in the province, their capacity to produce enough for the market, and to educate them on how the market would work.
“We were surprised to find there were far more farmers than we hoped, with many farming on a far larger scale. These farmers were invited to the show and have received training from AgricultSURE on how to improve production, the safe handling of agricultural chemicals, and marketing.
“The ultimate goal is to get all of the province’s small-scale farmers to a point where they can supply the market on a regular basis,” she said.
The show featured a livestock exhibit with various cattle, pig, sheep, and horse breeds, along with fancy pigeons and show chickens. Agricultural machinery was a big focus, too.
Van Wyk said since there were no other agricultural shows of this scale in the province, the Mpumalanga Show had become an important hub for suppliers to showcase their products and for farmers to see the latest innovations and technology on offer.
Here are some photos from the show
