Photo: Grain SA
“Despite the current harvesting pressures facing producers where wet conditions during harvest delayed harvest time, the show was a resounding success,” said Danie Minnaar, chairperson of the Grain SA Harvest Day Committee.
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“The general mood among farmers was upbeat, and exhibitors have expressed satisfaction with the quality of business done. The strong presence of young people also reinforces that agriculture in South Africa has a future,” he said.
There was also plenty of traffic at Nampo, both on the ground and in the air. According to Grain SA, air traffic this year comprised 377 aeroplanes and 69 helicopters, which ferried visitors “predominantly from the business sector”.
One of the high-level visitors this year was SA’s president Cyril Ramaphosa. Grain SA said Ramaphosa attended on Tuesday (13 May), accompanied by his farm manager, Jessica Phathela. He visited “in his capacity as a farmer to explore the latest agricultural innovations and conduct business”.
“He also took the time to engage Grain SA leadership on matters critical to the grain sector,” Grain SA said in a statement.
In addition to Ramaphosa, Grain SA said the show was attended by a series of cabinet-level visitors, including Deputy President Paul Mashatile, Agriculture Minister John Steenhuisen, Public Works and Infrastructure Minister Dean Macpherson, and numerous other government officials and politicians.
The event hosted some 900 exhibitors this year, and also included international representation from United Kingdom, US, Argentina, Turkey, and Brazil.
In an earlier interview with Farmer’s Weekly, Nampo Managing Director Dr Dirk Strydom said they estimated exhibits on display to be valued at roughly R1-billion. This included hundreds of millions of Rands worth of agricultural machinery, with many big brand names using the event to launch new technology to the farming sector.
One such exhibitor was John Deere, which launched its new RX 830 tractor at the event. Lucas Groenewald from John Deere Africa and Middle East said this was officially the biggest tractor in the world.
“There is a lot of excitement about it and we have already had several farmers express interest in testing it out.”
Groenewald, who was manager of Marketing and Division One Sales Southern Africa for John Deere Africa and Middle East, said Nampo for them was about getting a feel for what was going on at ground level.
“It is the one place where you can gauge the attitudes of farmers, whether they are feeling positive or negative…and how this is affecting their planning.”
He said their primary focus had never been about actual sales at the event it was more about connections that could generate leads. In this regard, he felt they had sourced as many, if not more, leads as last year, despite a quieter feel due to harvest season challenges being experienced by many producers.
Grain SA meanwhile, said Nampo existed first and foremost as South Africa’s leading grain production and value chain exhibition. Dr Tobias Doyer, CEO of Grain SA said the real impact for the week had been the discussions that took place around crop performance, input costs, infrastructure bottlenecks, and access to new technologies.
“Nampo’s success lies in the provided platform where producers, researchers, agribusinesses and technology providers come together to exchange knowledge, showcase innovation and prepare for the challenges of the coming season,” he said.
Grain SA is now looking ahead to Nampo Cape at Bredasdorp from 10 to 13 September, and Nampo ALFA, the Livestock, Hunting & Outdoor Expo being presented from 16 to 18 October at Nampo Park, Bothaville. – Sabrina Dean
