RATIN

Calling all Kenyan farmers for the latest Expo

Posted on August, 24, 2018 at 09:12 am


Thousands of farmers are expected to descend on Naivasha, Kenya from 12-13 September for the inaugural Farm-Tech Expo Kenya outdoor farming expo that is taking place at the host partner KALRO’s facilities (Kenya Agricultural & Livestock Research Organization – Dairy Research Institute).

“I would like to invite all farmers, key stakeholders, retailers, agents and service providers from across the entire agriculture value chain to attend the event in Naivasha,” says Dr Eliud Kireger, the Director General of KALRO, adding: “Farm-Tech Expo Kenya will be a world-class trade platform designed to empower, inform and transition Kenya’s agri-value chain onto the 21st century highway.”

Farm-Tech Expo Kenya will provide a unique outdoor and interactive buying platform for agriculture professionals of all scales, from live crop trials and machinery demonstrations to practical free-to-attend training workshops.

The high-level opening ceremony on 12 September includes the following guests:

–  Dr Joseph Mureithi, Deputy Director General: Livestock, KALRO, Kenya
–  Prof. Rose Mwonya, Vice Chancellor, Egerton University, Kenya
–  Dr John Mutunga, Member of Parliament & Agricultural Committee, Kenya
–  Lee Kinyanjui, Governor, Nakuru County, Kenya
–  Prof. Hamadi Boga, Principal Secretary – Agriculture Research, Ministry of Agriculture, Livestock, Fisheries and Irrigation, Kenya
–  Hon. Mwangi Kiunjuri, Cabinet Secretary, Ministry of Agriculture, Livestock, Fisheries and Irrigation, Kenya

Free-to-attend AgriTEACH training workshops
The AgriTEACH technical workshops on 12-13 September are presented by industry experts and focus on modernising small-scale farmers. These workshops provide access to market information and innovations from the latest financial loan models to new agri solutions.

The AgriTEACH workshop programme topics and speakers include:

    Smarter mechanisation: Affordable, economical and durable technology for small scale farmers
    – Sunish Shah, President – International Business, Captain Tractors, India
    Effective weed management and nutrients supplement for maximum yields
    – Wilfred Omondi Juma, Regional Technical Manager, BASF East Africa Ltd, Kenya
    – Vitalis Wafula, Senior Commercial Manager, YARA, Kenya
    Branching your direction from farm to factory: Methods to reach export quality
    – Harold Mate, Senior Technical Specialist, Agri-Value Chains & Markets, Farm Concern International – Africa Office, Kenya
    Nutritional information guidelines and disease management for healthy farm animals
    – Dr Charles Ochodo, Deputy Director -Directorate: Veterinary Services, Ministry of Agriculture, Livestock, Fisheries and Irrigation, Kenya
    How to access and manage your finance to develop your farm?
    – Senior representative, Agricultural Finance Corporation, Kenya
    Simple steps ensuring every drop of water is used wisely
    – Phanuel Webi, Deputy Director, Irrigation Water Management, Ministry of Agriculture, Livestock, Fisheries and Irrigation, Kenya

“We need to improve yield”

Dozens of leading local and global agri brands have already signed up to be in Naivasha in September, including CASE and Toyota as gold sponsors.

“Kenya is a regional hub for East Africa and is therefore strategically very important for the region,” says Ian Allen, General Manager – Agri Mechanisation Department at CASE and Toyota Tsusho East Africa Ltd. (TTEA), adding: “food production is one of the major pillars identified, which the government will focus on in the next five years.”

He continues: “we are inspired to be partners in developing agri mechanisation in the region in order to produce more food for a growing population. We need to improve yield and production from less available land through good mechanisation suited for our customers.”

Silver sponsors at Farm-Tech Expo Kenya are CMC, FarmCo, Versatile, Chief Industries, John Deere, Mascor, PanAfrican Equipment Group, Massey Ferguson, Quali Basic Seed and SAME.

Bronze sponsors confirmed so far are: BASF, HARDI Kenya, Lindsay Africa, Ndume, Perry Engineering, Promtek, Trimble, Yara, Baraka and Captain.

The first country pavilion to be confirmed so far is from Poland.

Farm-Tech Expo Kenya also enjoys the strategic support of important local and regional industry organisations such as the East African Chamber of Commerce, Industry and Agriculture (EACCIA), Eastern Africa Farmers Federation (EAFF), Farm Concern International, Kenya National Farmers’ Federation (KENAFF), Kenya Flower Council and Town and County Planners Association of Kenya.

Multi-award winning event organisers

Farm-Tech Expo Kenya is organised by Spintelligent, a multi-award-winning Cape Town-based exhibition and conference producer across the continent in the infrastructure, real estate, energy, mining, agriculture and education sectors. Other well-known events by Spintelligent include African Utility Week, Future Energy East Africa, Future Energy Nigeria, Agritech Expo Zambia, Kenya Mining Forum, Nigeria Mining Week and DRC Mining Week. Spintelligent is part of the UK-based Clarion Events Group.

Farm-Tech Expo Kenya 2018:

Wednesday, 12 September 2018 | 09:00 – 17:00
Thursday, 13 September 2018 | 09:00 – 17:00
Location: Kenya Agricultural and Livestock Research Organization (KALRO), Naivasha, Kenya

Source: Farmers Review Africa