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Ag in Motion gains international attention

The Ag in Motion outdoor farm show has become popular with Canadian farmers during its first decade and interest is building internationally.

Rob O’Connor, show director of Ag in Motion, said growth and interest in the show is happening naturally. It has never been advertised outside of Western Canada but that hasn’t stopped word from spreading to Eastern Canada, the United States and other continents.

Whether from their own interest or at the invitation of companies participating in AIM, attendees from multiple African and European countries and Australia were well represented at this year’s show, held in July near Langham, Sask.

Henok Dejene is owner and managing director of hdd trading plc, an import-export company from Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, and he was one of this year’s international attendees.

“I have travelled all over the world, to different kinds of shows and exhibitions and expos like this,” he said. “This one is different. It is intended for demonstration. Wherever you see the tractors, the seeders, the drones, everything, you can see it doing the things that it’s supposed to do. So, demonstration with these kinds of things, it catches my eye, and I hope I’ll see it again.”

Dejene, a first-time visitor to the show, said he was astonished at the size of AIM and its displays and intends to return.

Why it matters: Ag in Motion ran in mid-July 2024 near Langham, Sask.

His goal at AIM was to build relationships and find equipment to import. Ethiopian production is similar to that of the Prairies. It produces teff, corn, wheat and sorghum so equipment requirements are closely mirrored.

Dejene’s company imports agriculture and construction machinery and parts, new and used, ranging from tractors and large trucks to seeders and irrigation equipment. Most of what he finds is sold to retailers, though his company keeps some equipment to rent.

“For example, when somebody starts some big farming, we rent out some machineries to clear the land. I rent the tractors. Maybe they can’t or (don’t) have the capacity to own this machine,” he said.

Ethiopia is most accustomed to John Deere equipment, Dejene said, but what they have is less technical and with less horsepower than the equipment he saw at AIM. He said a high level of technological advancement is not yet needed in his country.

“Some of the machineries are sophisticated, they are very big, they are really cutting edge. Maybe those kinds of machineries may take some time. And the other thing, the drones, the pumps, and some small horsepower tractors, already the market is there.”

John Deere equipment is familiar in Ethiopia and other parts of Africa because the brand expanded there in the late 2010s. It established an assembly plant in Ethiopia a few years ago. Dejene said he wants to encourage other companies to establish in Ethiopia because the agriculture market is strong.

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