The Paris Agricultural Show assistance for African exhibitors

Every year Paris becomes the centre of the world of agricultural machinery. For ten days In March, the Paris Agricultural Show attract-s many thousands of visitors. Like its other European counterparts, the Show is a show case of technical progress in such areas as heavy agricultural machinery, computerization, agricultural biotechnologies and high performance stock breeds. Everything on display leads the visitor to the conclusion that world agriculture is In a state of constant evolution and growth. But the Paris show is also a meeting point for the countries of the South. For many years now the organizers, together with the Centre d'Etude et d'Experimentation du Machinisme Agricols/Centre for tropical agricultural machinery research and experimentation (CEEMAT), have made a point of exhibiting not only equipment which is specifically geared to the needs of tropical countries, but also equipment produced by those countries themselves. Among the 27 exhibitors on the 'tropical platform, was SISMAR, a Senegalese company which makes ploughs, planters and cultivators suited to all of the Soudano Sahelian zones. By giving such manufacturers the chance to display their products, the organizers hope to boost the African presence, both francophone and anglophone. A CEEMAT spokesman said at the show: 'What we are demonstrating here is that there is a technical solution to everything, even for Africa s unique farming systems, and with low-cost yet reliable equipment. However, it must be said that state investment in agriculture is in decline, and we can no longer count on private African Investors to risk their capital. Potential participants in the 1991 Paris Agricultural Show should contact: M Prince, CEEMAT Parc de Tourvoie 92160, Antony, FRANCE