29 Jun 2014

Four tractors, each with a four-disc plough and a two-row planter, are available for motorists who fuel their motor vehicles at Engen filling stations this year.

This is the second Farmers Dream Win-A-Tractor competition promoted by Engen Botswana. During the first competition last year, four people won a tractor each, and each one of the tractors came with a four-disc plough and a two-row planter.

Engen Botswana managing director, Mr Chimweta Monga, said the tractors that the winners received were part of his company’s contribution to the economy of Botswana because farmers who won the implements had been able to work the land and produce food.

“One of the greatest things about being in this job, beyond knowing that we are able to satisfy the needs of our clients and our investors, is the realization that we play an integral role in our community,” he said.

Mr Monga said the competition will become a platform for development and differentiation – a platform to celebrate an opportunity in agriculture. The socio-economic relevance of a tractor is that it has a sustainable role in agricultural production.

“Firstly it offers the chance for increased income stream, whether for one’s ploughing needs or hiring out that service,” he said.

He also said the tractor would empower Batswana to become more entrepreneurial and more financially stable and independent.

“Secondly the opportunity to win the tractor will add value to the economy through increased food security and help Botswana attain self-sufficiency in food production,” he added.

With government’s interventions such as ISPAAD, corporates should strive to support such visions of self-sufficiency and food security.

In the competition, a customer must spend P200 on fuel or lubes at Engen or spend P60 at Engen Ouickshops.

Mr Elvis Ncaagae, the acting chief executive officer of the Botswana Agricultural Marketing Board, said the agriculture sector had become more significant than in the past few years but it was yet to become the biggest contributor to the nation’s GDP.

“Agriculture only contributes a paltry two per cent of the GDP and interestingly only providing for up to fifty per cent of the country’s food needs,” he said.

Mr Ncaagae said the tractors that go to Batswana via the Farmers Dream Win-A-Tractor promotion could help attain better figures. He added that Engen Botswana recognized the potential of the agriculture sector and its importance, hence the hope that the competition will continue to grow for years to come for more impact.

He appealed to the corporate world to follow the example of Engine Botswana in supporting agriculture. ENDS