25 Jun 2014

Good harvests are set to overwhelm the country as a bumper year is expected for crop production, the Assistant Minister of Agriculture, Mr Oreeditse Molebatsi hinted when addressing members of the media in Gaborone on June 24.

Mr Molebatsi said around 200 000 metric tons of harvest were expected, adding that this was a result of both the good rains and farmers’ positive response to the ideal ploughing conditions.

He said the good harvest meant that there would be less imports and that cereal availability would go a long way in supporting other agricultural enterprises that depended on cereal for their success.

Such enterprises included dairy, piggery, and poultry, among others, he said, adding that the horticulture production for the 2013/14 was about 46 000 metric tons, which was an improvement from the 40 000 produced during the year 2012/13.

Besides the good rains providing perfect condition for arable farming, the assistant minister attributed some of the successes to the continuing government support programmes such as ISPAAD.

“We continue to restructure the horticulture market to a wholesale market to improve on the marketing and coordination of regulation of the horticulture products,” he said.

He said his ministry had launched a special ISPAAD for areas that were not suited to arable production, adding that the programme would complement the ongoing LIMID programme as they shared some components.

LIMID programme was being improved by having a guide on when to receive applications to allow for speedy processing.

On issues of livestock production, Mr Molebatsi noted that the ministry was investigating incidences of Foot and Mouth Disease (FMD) in Mohembo West. He said the FMD outbreak was a serious setback to the subsector as they had the last reported outbreak in September 2013.

Poor vaccination coverage in the area last year and early this year must have contributed to such incidents, he said, thus he appealed to farmers to always do their best to bring all their cattle for vaccinations.

On the Livestock Identification and Trackback System, the ministry was continuing with the intensive ear tagging campaign, he pointed out.

Minister Molebatsi noted that the second stage, which would include farmers buying the electronic ear tags and applying them, was scheduled to later his year.

The second stage would be launched in August, while the transition of bolus to ear tags was also a transition from the livestock identification to a new identification interface system, The Botswana Animal Identification System (BAITS). ENDS