S07 AF March_April 2020 Editorials_Layout 1 20/03/2020 13:44 Page 20
EVENTS
The organisers elaborate on their mission for the Agritech Expo Zambia which was postponed two weeks before the event was scheduled to take place.
Delivering high standards in events and exhibitions
Image Credit: DLG
The AgriTech Expo team in the field. Wayne Krull, Operations Director, Christopher Armstrong, Marketing Manager, Simunji and Zulu from the GART team of agronomists, Rae Ferguson from Rooney’s Supply.
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N 16 MARCH 2020, exactly 15 days before the seventh edition of the AgriTech Expo in Zambia was to kick-off at the GART Research Centre in Chisamba, Zambia, the organisers, the local representation of the German Agricultural Society (DLG Agriculture Limited) and Zambian National Farmers’ Union (ZNFU) received an official communication from the Ministry of Health of the Republic of Zambia to postpone the event. The week before this official announcement was received by the organisers, the outbreak of the new coronavirus (SARSCoV-2) was given the status of a pandemic
20 African Farming - March/April 2020
by the World Health Organisation (WHO). This resulted in a number of countries putting in to effect many precautionary measures such as closing of borders, nation wide lockdowns as well as cancellation or postponement of large gatherings to combat the spread of the virus. In 2019, the sixth edition of AgriTech Expo Zambia hosted more than 18,000 visitors, 300 exhibitors and seven international pavilions from the Czech Republic, European Union, Italy, China, Sweden, Finland, Germany and the United Kingdom. Therefore, it was clear to the organisers as soon as the situation started to deterio-
rate and the official communication was received from the government of Zambia, that the exhibition had to be postponed without any question. As with all event organisers who have had to deal with this situation, the safety and wellbeing of all the stakeholders is of paramount importance. Preparations for event One of the most popular features of the AgriTech Expo Zambia is the crop trial area. In 2019, 26 companies demonstrated their seeds, chemicals and fertilisers on their designated trial crop plots. For this to work seamlessly, exhibitors, organisers along with the agronomists at the host venue of
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