19 YEARS OF SUCCESS!
May 4, 1994 – First edition of the Agrishow Ribeirão Preto, which would change the course of Brazilian agribusiness
The main success factor of Agrishow was the adoption of the concept of a dynamic trade show, in other words, a trade show that was more than just a static exhibition, but also featured machinery demonstrations, agricultural equipments and implements in action. This new kind of event, on which farmers have the opportunity to evaluate the performance of the equipments in real operating conditions, was the main characteristic of the Farm Progress Show, in the United States, and the Expochacra, in Argentina. In Brazil, the first experience of this new kind of trade show had been made by Expodinâmica, an event that occurred in two occasions – first in Londrina, PR, and then in Uberaba, MG – organized by initiative of Brasílio de Araújo Neto, farm proprietor and president of the Agricultural Society of Paraná, with the partnership of the company responsible for the organization of the argentine trade show.
“Agrishow was a way of rethinking trade shows. Before its creation, the agricultural trade shows were held alongside livestock trade shows, and had music performances, where a lot of drinking took place”, remembers Shiro Nishimura, president of Jacto Agricultural Machines. “We who sell capital assets wanted a different “stage”. Until Agrishow came long, we missed a trade show specifically for our business segment, because we didn’t want to continue selling machines until midnight. We wanted a trade show that allowed us to show our final customers how our products could be useful to them”. The president of Jacto also believes that Agrishow was born from the combination of the ideas of Ney Bittencourt, Roberto Rodrigues, the associates of the Regional Chamber of Agricultural Machines and Implements and the board of directors of Abimaq (Brazilian Association of Machinery and Equipment Industry).
Agrishow Project
The idea to create a dynamic trade show began being formally discussed in a meeting on May 22, 1993.
It took place at the Carborundum’s headquarters, in Vinhedo, SP, presided by Ivan Pupo Lauandos, company director and, at that time, president of Abimaq’s National Department of Agricultural Machinery and Implements (DNMIA), later reassigned as the current Chamber. In this meeting, which was attended by representatives from Anfavea (National Association of Automotive Vehicles Manufacturers), Marchesan, Baldan and Jumil, they discussed about the “National Dynamic Exhibition of Machinery and Supplies” and it was established that Abimaq, Anfavea, Anda (National Association of Fertilizer Promotion), Andef (National Association of Vegetable Defense) and Abrasem (Brazilian Association of Seeds and Seedlings) should be involved on the project, which would all be contacted once an organizing company was found. It was said established that the first edition would take place in the state of São Paulo and that it should be a trade show aimed “essentially on businesses”.
On the June 22 meeting, at Abimaq’s headquarters, between the representatives from the entities and the manufacturing companies, the first practical steps were taken, like consulting the entities and researching the organizing companies that had the experience to handle such event. “All those involved in these first meetings sought to bring to life a dynamic trade show, taking as role model the Farm Progress Show what we all had visited”, remembers Ivan Lauados. “There was a consensus about the idea that this trade show should be less political and more technical, and that in there could not be, in any hypothesis, musical concerts, like it used to be in the agricultural events that took place in Brazil at that time.”
On the next meeting, on July 27, Abag (Brazilian Agribusiness Association), SRB (Brazilian Rural Society),Anfavea and Abimaq comfirmed their intentions to participate in the event that, at that moment, became temporarily named as “1st Dynamic Trade Show of Agricultural Machinery”. The representatives of these entities also decided to reaffirm the participation invite to Anda, Andef and Abrasem.
Name and location
The title Agrishow, suggested by Celso Luís Casale, was chosen to permanently name the event in the meeting that took place on August 3, also in Abimaq’s headquarters. In this occasion, the participants tried to decide on the place where the trade show would occur, having been suggested, in order of preference,the cities of Ribeirão Preto, São Carlos and Araras. Although most of the attendees preferred the first one, there was still no decision on the land to be used. Meanwhile, there had been some conversations with Embrapa (Brazilian Agricultural Research Corporation) aiming at possibly establishing the trade show in the Canxim Farm, in São Carlos. The attendees then decided that the commission would gather in Ribeirão Preto, on August 10, to visit the lands available in this region and that, if no consensus were to be reached over an appropriate location in the city, the trade show would be held in São Carlos.
The meeting held on September 14, 1993, at the Experimental Station, might be considered as the initial date for the implantation of the trade show in Ribeirão Preto. “Agrishow’s greatest achievement was to promote the first great meeting of all the links in the agricultural production chain in Brazil. This allowed a greater and closer contact between all areas involved and a greater understanding of the problems each one faced and the search for common solutions”, declared the former president of Abimaq, Luiz Carlos Delben Leite. “From this moment on, a series of other steps were achieved. Today Agrishow is an absolute success, which can be proved by the annual growth of the attending public. We began with 17 thousand people in 1994 and reached 140 thousand in 2008.”
This success was achieved by the usefulness Agrishow represents for these people, because nowadays it attracts all the main new releases of machinery, implements, seeds, pesticides, fertilizers, anyway, all technologies that are becoming available for Brazilian farmers and livestock breeders.
Continuous Evolution
Agrishow is traditionally held on the week comprising the last days of April and the beginning of May, from Monday to Saturday. That is, in a moment where farmers are finishing the harvest of the previous crop and preparing for the next one. This is the best moment to decide on the acquisition of new machines, implements and further supplies. At this moment, they are also more available to stay away from their properties and visit the trade show.
Since 1994, Brazilian farmers have come to Ribeirão Preto in a massive and growing way. Companies, who quickly realized the trade show was becoming a privileged stage for their products and services, have been expanding their presence in the event, as proved by the data gathered by the Agrishow staff. On its first edition, held from 04-07 May 1994, 86 exhibiting companies participated and the trade show had an attending public of 17 thousand visitors. A year later, about 60 thousand visitors came to the trade show. From that moment on, the numbers of both visitors and exhibitors have been growing year after year. In 2008, its 15th edition, the event attracted 774 national and international exhibitors and over 140 thousand visitors from various countries.
In 2000, to answer to a demand that had been detected since the event’s first edition, the organizers created, within the Agrishow Ribeirão Preto, the Pasturage and Haying Trade Show, an area solely for the manufacturers of livestock supplies. This new event within the larger trade show attracted, on its first year, 30 exhibitors which received 38 thousand visitors, including 500 foreigners. Also on this year, Sebrae-SP sponsored the participation of 48 smalls business companies, who made over 700 deals, with a total revenue of R$ 903,000, during the trade show, and estimated solid future business prospects of R$ 7.8 millions. The fourth edition of this specific event within Agrishow was attended by the President of the Republic, Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva.
Today, Pasturage and Haying is one of the areas of the trade show that displays equipments, supplies and services solely for this business segment and has its own program of dynamic demonstrations, which allows the livestock breeder meet the most recent breakthroughs related to his/her activity.
Demonstrations Show
The dynamic demonstrations are the great advantage of Agrishow Ribeirão Preto. The moment where companies that “trust on their own skills” – as said by the minister Roberto Rodrigues – not only exhibit their products in a static way, but also its efficiency and productivity, that is, the inherent qualities that truly interests the potential customer. For them, this is the moment to solve any doubts when comparing the performance of similar equipments. For the manufacturers, this is the time of truth, the moment to prove the superiority of their products.
Since 2004, the demonstrations are classified in three groups: business agriculture, family agriculture and livestock breeding. The main concern of the organizers is with the compliance to the rules meant to ensure a completely ethical and impartial participation.
Agrishow Ribeirão Preto might undergo some changes for the next editions, but always aimed at the needs of the dynamic national agricultural sector. All changes, however, will bend to the commitment undertook almost fifteen years ago by the organizing entities, of turning Agrishow into a big and efficient “technology showcase” and a trade show aimed “essentially on businesses”.