OTJIWARONGO – The 2015 Okamatapati -Otjiwarongo Show is a done deal and has the potential to become the second biggest show in the country.
The 2014 Okamatapati Annual Industrial and Agricultural Show, held in Otjiwarongo last week for the first time after the Windhoek Show Society (WSS) shunned the holding of this show this year at the Windhoek Show Grounds where it was held last year, is said to have laid a strong foundation for the merger of the Otjiwarongo Show and the Okamatapati Show. Informal discussions between the chief organiser of the Okamatapati Show, Albert Tjihero, and Chairperson of the Otjiwarongo Show Society, Dirk Faul, last week are expected to result in formal discussions with the Ministry of Agriculture, Water and Forestry (MAWF) and other role players to put Otjiwarongo back on the map as an agricultural hub of the north/central regions of Namibia.
Tjihero and Faul says it’s a question of fine-tuning the details to combine the two shows. The Otjiwarongo Show will be revived after five years of no-show on September 11-13 while the curtain closed on Sunday on a very successful first Okamatapati Show in Otjiwarongo. “It will be a dream come true,” says Tjihero. “The combined effort of the two show societies has the potential to become the flagship of Namibian agricultural shows if we tap on the full potential of all the communal, emerging and commercial farmers spread over a vast area of various regions. In terms of numbers and quality, we are able to compete with even the Windhoek Agricultural Show,” says a very excited Tjihero.
Faul is equally excited about the prospects. “The Otjiwarongo Show used to be one of the biggest shows in the country in the seventies and eighties but withered away over the years to the extent that the show died in 2009. Now we have the opportunity to combine the two shows and come up with something that will stand as a monument for cooperation between the communal, commercial and emerging farmers of the Otjozondjupa region and beyond. We could become the ultimate showcase for the agricultural sector once again,” he notes.
Tjihero and Faul say the two parties have agreed in principle to combine the two shows next year. They will enter into formal discussions with all role players soon after consultations with communal, emerging and commercial farmers as well as entrepreneurs and resettled farmers. Tjihero adds that the full potential of farmers in all sectors from Rietfontein, Okamatapati, Aminuis, Epikiro, Okakarara and anywhere else in the Otjozondjupa and Omaheke regions will be tapped while the Otjiwarongo Show Society will make sure the vast commercial resources in the area are brought to the party.
“The Ongombe Show Society also has plans on the table to present to the relevant authorities to become part of the annual Ongwediva Trade Fair. “The idea is to start off on a very small scale with showcasing just a few cattle and small stock and some of the highly talented entrepreneurs in our agricultural sector. Formal discussions with governors, the Ministry of Agriculture and Meatco are in the pipeline and will commence soon,” he says.
Some 200 cattle and 300 sheep and goats paraded the Otjiwarongo Show Grounds last week during the Okamatapati Show, and Faul says entries for the upcoming Otjiwarongo Show also look good. “It just shows that the potential is there; we just have to combine our efforts and turn it into a prestigious event unlike any other show in the country,” he confirms.
“If we combine the two shows, we will save farmers a lot of money on transport costs and we will attract much bigger crowds if the shows are combined. Our show is 90 percent agricultural and the Otjiwarongo Show puts much more emphasis on the industrial sector. So, if we combine the two, we will have the ultimate show. It just makes economic sense; our show is at the end of August and the Otjiwarongo Show starts on September 11,” says Tjihero.
An upbeat Tjihero seems to quickly want put behind him the bitter disappointment of the WSS refusing them permission for the show to be held in Windhoek again this year now that better prospects are looming. “Last year our communal and emerging farmers were tested to the limit to deliver their animals in Windhoek while the drought was raging through the country. Transport costs have been reduced considerably with Otjiwarongo being a more practical destination for many of our members.” He appeals to commercial farmers and all role players in the meat industry to support the OFA in its endeavour to stage the show annually in combination with the Otjiwarongo Show and make it an event Namibians will be proud of.
Apart from White Brahmans, some of the finest Red Brahmans, Simmentalers, Santa Getrudis and Braunviews cattle from emerging and communal farmers from surrounding areas were showcased last week, together with a variety of Boer Goats, and Van Rooy and Damara sheep.
Captions:
1 Albert Tjihero, the Chief Organiser of the Okamatapati Industrial and Agricultural Show with one of his prized White Brahman bulls at last week’s Okamatapati Agricultural Show in Otjiwarongo.