Farmers, agribusinesses and technology companies turned out in strong numbers at this year’s NAMPO Harvest Day despite weather disruptions and ongoing financial pressures in the agricultural sector, according to Dr Dirk Strydom, the Marketing, NAMPO and Research Coordination Lead at Grain SA.
Speaking after Thursday’s activities at the annual agricultural exhibition, Strydom said exhibitors reported encouraging business activity as visitors who missed Wednesday’s programme due to disruptions returned the following day.
“We’ve seen a lot of people that were not here on Wednesday but managed to come Thursday, so that helps quite a lot,” Strydom said. “What I got from the exhibitors is they did quite good business on Thursday as well, so that is for us good news.”
Thursday’s attendance reached 21,963 visitors, reflecting continued interest in one of Africa’s largest agricultural trade shows. However, Strydom indicated that overall visitor numbers may fall slightly short of last year’s totals, partly because many farmers are currently focused on harvesting operations.
“If you ask me, I don’t think we’re going to get to last year’s figures in terms of total figures, but that was expected as well,” he said. “Farmers are obviously trying to get their harvest in, especially summer crops, and with the sunshine over the past week, many are focused on getting work done.”
He added that rising travel costs were also affecting attendance, alongside tighter aviation regulations that have limited the participation of some aircraft operators.
“Some aircraft are not permitted anymore to fly and need upgrades to be able to fly,” Strydom explained. “So there’s a big debate in aviation in terms of that. Most of the flights you see here are corporates or charter flights. About 60% of the flights are charters.”
Strydom said there was a misconception that the high number of aircraft at the exhibition reflected booming farm profits.
“There’s a narrative that all these wealthy farmers are here, but agriculture is struggling currently with profits and margins,” he said. “It’s not necessarily farmers flying in privately — a lot of it is corporate and charter operations.”
Despite economic pressures, the exhibition showcased major advances in agricultural technology and innovation. Strydom highlighted the increasing presence of robotics, autonomous machinery and other high-tech farming solutions.
“There was really high-tech stuff this year at NAMPO,” he said. “There were robots moving by themselves and physical robots walking around here. I think that’s the future as well. We can’t hide from the future.”
He noted that self-propelled equipment and advanced machinery attracted considerable interest from visitors and exhibitors alike.
“A day like yesterday gave exhibitors the opportunity to showcase that technology,” he added. “The really good inventions and practical innovations reflected the theme of this year as well.”
Beyond machinery and equipment displays, the event also created opportunities for industry dialogue around agriculture’s future. Strydom pointed to discussions on infrastructure development and biofuels as key highlights.
“There were good discussions and new ways of thinking about how we can improve the whole infrastructure scenario regarding agriculture,” he said. “The whole biofuel debate also generated a lot of engagement.”
Organisers also introduced new lifestyle attractions to broaden the visitor experience. Among them was a wine-tasting tent, which Strydom described as a successful addition.
“I was quite surprised how cool that is,” he said. “It’s a very nice place to go and relax before you enter the exhibition area, and a lot of people utilised that, so it seems like it worked quite well.”
Friday was expected to attract another steady flow of visitors, with many attendees traditionally preferring the quieter final day.
“The online ticket sales look good and there are still people sitting in traffic,” Strydom said. “A lot of people know Friday is normally quieter, so they choose to come then.”
As preparations continue for future editions of NAMPO, Strydom said organisers were already evaluating logistics, visitor flow and exhibition planning to improve the experience further.
“At NAMPO, if it’s fully booked today, then we already start preparing for the next NAMPO immediately,” he said.
