13 Jul 2014

Agriculture has potential to be largest contributor to household economy and reduce poverty especially in rural communities across the country, Assistant Minister of Agriculture, Mr Oreeditse Molebatsi has said.

Addressing a kgotla meeting in Lekgwapheng in Molepolole on June 10, Mr Molebatsi said government had put up interventions such as ISPAAD to assist arable farmers put bread on the table.

He said a family with no food lost integrity before the society and as such it was upon Batswana especially small farmers to utilise government assistance such as hybrid seeds citing that even those who used draft power would be assisted provided they adopt row planting method.

Mr Molebatsi said the 110 000 small farmers assisted by government should be able to produce more than enough to meet the country’s demands and even for export if they put to use guidance on proper farming methods from agriculture demonstrators.

He said a one hector should be able to produce enough for the household and surplus and as such the five hectors ploughed for free by government for farmers was more than enough for the country’s demands and export.

He said because government has put poverty eradication as a priority as a way to promote economic development particularly by poor rural communities, he encouraged farmers to adopt current farming methods such as row planting and use of fertilisers and herbicides to improve yields and livelihoods.

The Minister informed residents that beneficiaries of small stock will no longer be required to source animals on their own as the ministry has put a plan set aside dates to purchase animals across the country and supply beneficiaries.

He also informed them of specialised ISPAAD which will provide tailor made programmes to specific areas/regions because government has realised that certain farming activities performed better in some areas and not in some.

For his part, Member of Parliament for the area, Mr Daniel Kwelagobe said poverty eradication was not about backyard, but utilisation of arrays of assistance programmes put in place by government such as Young Farmers Fund, Youth Development Fund, Integrated Support Programme for Arable Agriculture Development (ISPAAD), ALDEP, and Livestock Management and Infrastructure Development (LIMID).

He said government efforts to eradicate poverty from meager resources should be appreciated as the programme intends to assist those adversely affected by poverty so that they may also live a decent life like the rest of the society by providing themselves with basic amenities. 

He said agricultural programmes when properly utilised can help beneficiaries achieve sustenance and dignity. ENDS