ASK trade fairs return, go cashless

Animal handlers guide a 630kg bull towards the auction ring during the Nairobi International Trade Fair on October 2, 2019 at the Agricultural Society of Kenya (ASK) Showground along Ngong Road. PHOTO | FRANCIS NDERITU | NMG

The annual Agricultural Society of Kenya (ASK) trade fairs will resume after a year’s hiatus due to the Covid-19 pandemic.

This is after the Ministry of Health approved modalities, including protocols that will guide the staging of the shows.

ASK chief executive officer Batram Muthoka said exhibitions in Nairobi, Mombasa, Nakuru and Machakos will resume.

“The 2021 calendar of events was earlier revised with the foresight of hosting alternative activities to the shows and trade fairs such as farmers’ field days in some branches,” said Mr Muthoka.

He said, following the persistence of coronavirus, exhibitors need to adopt open space displays, adding that ASK would help them set up structures that do not promote crowding in line with global exhibition standards.

Cashless

As part of the measures to contain the spread of Covid-19, ASK will adopt cashless payments to minimise physical interactions.

The society says both exhibitors and visitors will now be required to register on its online portal.

“The society wishes to emphasise that no physical cash transaction will be accepted at the entrance of the respective showgrounds,” said Mr Muthoka.