Capital Equipment News June 2016

40 / 44

CAPITAL EQUIPMENT NEWS JUNE 2016 38
Grain SA’s 50th NAMPO Harvest day
shattered all records amidst dire
agricultural conditions. The four-day
event was held at Bothaville and was at-
tended by a record number of 75 116 peo-
ple while there were 685 exhibitors – the
most ever in the history of NAMPO.
This attendance figure exceeded all expec-
tations. According to the organisers, and
exhibitors, they wrote up some good busi-
ness as a result. Excellent weather con-
ditions contributed to the high attendance
figures.
The influx of light aircraft, always a hall-
mark of the show, was significant in that
448 planes, compared with 399 of last year,
graced the parking area.
The smooth flow of visitors through the
gates, despite the large attendance, was
made possible with the introduction of an
electronic entrance system. A more even
distribution of visitors took place over the
four days. NAMPO 2016 proved that the fa-
cilities at NAMPO Park were able to handle
a large number of visitors. Positive com-
ments were received about the quality of
exhibitors, the good and clean condition of
the terrain and the general overall facilities.
“Over the past half-century, the NAMPO
Harvest Day has evolved into a brand that
accurately typifies modern agriculture in
South Africa. It speaks to the general public
as consumers of our agricultural products;
it speaks to all producers in our country; it
speaks to decision makers in government
and the industry as a whole. It even appeals
to the international arena and the growing
interest from abroad,” said Cobus van Col-
ler, chairman of Harvest Day.
Jannie de Villiers, CEO of Grain SA, has
great respect for South African farmers’
appetite for risk and said, “Despite difficult
conditions, producers are still prepared to
invest in the industry. They didn’t attend
NAMPO merely to come and look, they also
made calculated purchases which made
any detractor sit up and take notice.”
Furthermore, de Villiers observed a positive
eagerness amongst the guests of Grain SA,
who visited Harvest Day for the first time
and concluded by saying, “Senior people
in the structure of agriculture-related busi-
NAMPO HARVEST DAY
breaks all records
nesses obtained a positive insight into the
depth of the industry. Their feedback on
the image of a competitive, technologically
advanced industry was, without exception,
overwhelmingly positive.” b