10 Jun 2014

Residents of Matsiloje have complained about the criteria used during the restocking of goats in their area.

Speaking in a kgotla meeting addressed by the Assistant Minister of Agriculture, Mr Oreeditse Molebatsi recently, one of the residents, Mr Elias Majama said some farmers had not received their goats while others had.

Mr Majama said the goats restocking exercise was not done in a transparent manner, as only a few farmers were called by phone to collect their goats. He said those who did not get their goats were clueless of when they will get them.

Mr Majama also complained that boreholes in the area were not operational, a situation that he said led to the cattle going astray into Zimbabwe.



On the issue of cattle crossing into Zimbabwe, another resident, Mr Joel Mpetsane said the cordon fence between Botswana and Zimbabwe was almost non-existent.

 Mr Mpetsane said the fence was irreparable as it was beyond its life span and made it difficult for those hired to patrol it. 


He said government should have considered repairing the cordon fence before the restocking exercise, and also concurred with Mr Majama’s sentiments that a lot of farmers did not get their goats.



Earlier on, Kgosi Eric Moipolai applauded the ministry for posting a veterinary officer to their village. 

He echoed the residents’ concerns that the restocking exercise was not done properly and there was no communication with the farmers.



Kgosi Moipolai further said the cattle that they received through the restocking exercise died and some of them had foreign items in their stomachs.

 He lamented that even though the farmers utilised the ISPAAD, some of them especially in Matopi, were left with nothing as their crops were destroyed by elephants.

For his part, the assistant Minister said cattle that were restocked would be inserted with ear tags by the end of this month.

He noted that there was shortage of milk in the country, citing that out of the 60 million litres needed only 5-6 million litres was produced locally.



Mr Molebatsi said as a way of increasing milk production in the country, in a few months, semen of Jesse breed would be sold at Livestock Advisory Centres (LAC) to farmers for artificial insemination.



In response to the issues raised by the residents, the principal veterinary officer, Dr Kefilwe Makgetho concurred with the residents concerning the cordon fence status.

He however, said they would continue to maintain the fence as there were no funds for erecting a new one.



Dr Makgetho said a total of 54 cattle died in Matsiloje and suspected that farmers took a long time before reporting to the veterinary officials that they were sick.



The District Agricultural Coordinator, Mr Alfred Mashungwa explained that his ministry was in the process of mapping and registering all boreholes in the area and when completed, will hand over some to the Village Development Committees (VDCs), who will decide on how they can be used.



Proposing a vote of thanks, the area councillor, Ms Florence Mpetsane requested that all cattle that died after they were handed to the farmers should be replaced and encouraged farmers to register for seeds and fertilizers allocation by the end of June. Ends