Garden Show winners named

Winners of the 15th Bahrain International Garden Show were announced on the last day of the four-day event. The award ceremony welcomed 15 winners in total from categories such as Marketing Zone, Government sectors, Private Sectors, NGOs and Educational. Around 170 exhibitors took part in the 2019 Bahrain International Garden Show (BIGS), including specialised agricultural companies from around the world.

Shaikha Maram bint Isa Al Khalifa, Secretary General of the National Initiative for Agricultural Development, presented the awards following a speech of gratitude on the grand success of the event. “The response from people has been very gratifying. It makes us feel that all the effort we made towards organising this show has borne fruit. I’m very proud of my team and all the participants as well as the visitors, the number of visitors keep increasing every day and every year. “It is an indication of success and that this event is serving its purpose,” revealed Shaikha Maram.

“I hope that this beautiful spirit would continue,” she added. This year’s exhibition, under the slogan ‘Agriculture: A Promising Career Choice’, goes in line with the government’s effort in the implementation of sustainable agricultural practices. The event consisted of two divisions namely Marketing Zone (Hall1) and Awareness Zone (Hall2) with the Awareness Zone laying emphasis on the significance of the theme. “Our participants have been growing with us over the years; many of them are repeat participants especially in the ‘Awareness Hall’, they are very keen to serve the purpose of awareness that we have set out to convey.

They anticipate the announcement of the theme every year and immediately begin preparation, for me personally; it is very rewarding to witness their commitment and dedication, It is well deserved for them when they win; especially today many of them were recognised for their efforts,” said Shaikha Maram. Under the ‘Awareness Division’, University of Bahrain received the award for the educational category with a score of 90. No stranger to the award podium, the UoB saw the event as an opportunity to establish teamwork among various departments. “We have been participating since 2004 and we have been winning every year since irrespective of the place we have always been up on the podium,” stated Dr Faud Mohammed Al Ansari, UoB Director of Engineering.

“Preparations began in September and it provided the best opportunity for various departments to collaborate for months as one team,” he added. First-time winners, Al Noor Charity bagged the same award under the NGO category. “This is the third time we have participated and this is the first time we have won. All the members of our society love gardening and that is why we chose to display our fresh local produce,” revealed Shaikha Lulwa Khalifa Ali Khalifa Al Khalifa, Al Noor Charity Vice President. With 92.67 points the Ministry of Education bagged the first place among the Government Sectors with Agriculture and Marine Resource Agency (89.33) and Municipality Affairs (80) coming in second and third place respectively. “We have been participating every year since the very first Garden Show.

I feel ecstatic that we have won, every year from when they announce the theme we begin preparations immediately,” stated Dr Nilofer Ahmed Jahromi, Ministry of Education Consultant for Research and Agriculture. “Over the years we have secured many awards in first, second and third place. This year it was more rewarding because we are surrounded with a lot more competition and won,” she added. For the fourth year in a row, Kingdom Pride reigned supreme in the Private Sector with 70.33 points followed by NASS Landscape (59.67) and ALBA (59.33).

“It has been six years since we began participating and this is the fourth year in a row we have received the first prize. Our theme centres on agriculture as a promising career and promoting agriculture for future development,” said Ajith Thampan, Kingdom Pride Service Manager. The Marketing Zone witnessed seven winners from seven categories including Playground Equipment, Nursery, Landscape Company, Garden Accessories, Food Products, Flowershop, and Agricultural Equipment.