Agrish ’99 Held in Dhamar Again [Archives:1999/28/Reportage]
Dr. Muharram said that there is a two-line fund for the event, the local contribution of the Ministry of Finance, which was not so large, and the main supporter is the Dutch government. We also have some money that was earned by the show.
“Every time we have different difficulties. But to avoid this we had several meetings before the show in which we discussed our weaknesses in Agrish 1998. Pointing them out, we tried not to repeat the same mistakes. However, we just faced new problems instead of the old ones.” Dr. Muharram added.
On the other hand, I talked to Dr. Abdul Wahed O. Mukred, Vice Chairman of the Agricultural Research & Extension Authority and one of the organizers of the agrish 99 who said: “The objectives of the show are to create the atmosphere for positive interaction between the farmers and researchers extensions, and also to involve the private sector. This interaction helps participants learn from each other’s experiences and technologies, and also to transfer this same information to those who will benefit from the use of these technologies. The target groups are farmers. The design of the show is meant to attract attention not only to the agricultural aspects of farmers interests but also the cultural and sports events. Farmers came to visit the show, came to see technologies, to share experiences, to interact with each other, and to ask the researchers extension about their problems to get solutions. This experience has been proved successful last year, 1998, when the show was organized for the first time, then we decided to have it as annual event. This year’s experience has already yielded some very useful lessons for us, and that is definitely going to be one of the major issues that will be discussed after the termination of the shows’ activities in order to plan better for the next year, Agrish 2000.”
Dr. Mukred highlighted the role of the Dutch Embassy in the show by saying, “The Dutch Embassy covered expenses of all cultural, musical and sports events of the show. They covered the prices of the racing, of communication activities, of contracting the national communication center in preparing the show in terms of banners, posters, TV and radio spots. They also covered all the repairs on the main building of the show.”With regards to the participation of women in the show, Dr. Mukred noted: “The women who participated in the show were from more than 8 to 10 organizations from all over the country. This was a significant event, which proved very interesting and attracted many visitors. The women in the development section displayed lots of the activities of women in terms of home economics, but also in terms of agricultural production. This exhibits are not only for show but are also for sale; people can buy whatever they like from the handicrafts or from the products prepared by these organizations. There is a section in the show where farmers have access to researchers and academics where they can present their problems and ask for solutions. The researchers discuss the problems of the farmers, go with them to the field if need be, look at the samples they bring and advise and suggest a number of solutions for the problems. This exercise will be very successful because it is a straight forward arrangement between farmers and specialists, so there are no barriers between them and the interaction between them is evident.”
What is striking in the show is the significant participation of women not only from rural areas but also from urban centers. They tended to ask lots of questions about everything they saw, and that reflects their hunger for information. The number of visitors in the first two days makes me say with confidence that the number of women sometimes exceeds the number of men visiting the show.
In Agrish 1999 the Yemeni women’s production has also been seen. Miss. Eman Abdul Hakeem, Head of Women’s Section in AREA in Dhamar, said, “Our aim is to show the role of poor women. We are interested in gender and small skills enterprises. The purpose is to empower women and to make them self-dependent. We have participated in a lot of workshops and programs. Right now, we started our new project ITC2, which is part of AREA, with the help of the Dutch government. The project will start at the end of this month to train the female and male workers for two weeks from five different areas: Shabwa, Sayoon, Mahweet, Hodeidah, and Dhamar. We will try to identify the women’s needs and assist their work.”
By: Ismail Al-Ghabery
Yemen Times
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