15 Jul 2014

Agriculture is a primary source of food security, employment, self-reliance, raw materials for industry and source of health and wealth for the people, Vice President Dr Kedikilwe has said.

Dr Kedikilwe, who is also Member of Parliament for Mmadinare was speaking at the Mmadinare District Agricultural Show dinner held in his honour and also to accord him an opportunity to appreciate farmers who took part in the show.  

The dinner was held at the village's community hall, which Dr Kedikilwe said had a lot of historical memories because it was the first project he set up when he became the area MP some three decades ago.

Dr Kedikilwe said that the spinoffs from agriculture had a ripple effect on household needs and national projects. He cited the University of Botswana as one of the historical projects of a national stature, where people contributed their livestock towards its construction.  

The contribution, he added, came from subsistence agriculture resources where each family or person donated a beast. “The slogan was ‘motho le motho kgomo’ meaning one man one beast’ which saw the setting up the university which is our national pride,” he said.

Dr Kedkilwe noted that agriculture’s contribution to the Gross Domestic Product (GDP), though having relatively declined since independence, continued to contribute significantly to the overall economy of the country. “National food self-sufficiency is a matter of national pride,” he said.

The Vice President stated that government would continue to support agriculture through various programmes such as ISPAAD and LIMID, which got an allocation of P250 million and P50 million respectively annually.

Dr Kedikilwe advised farmers to utilise new farming methods, such as row planting, weeding and pests control and fertilisers usage to produce good yields.

In the Mmadinare north fields during the 2013/2014 ploughing season, he said, 100 farmers exceeded the Ministry of Agriculture maize production target of 20-40 bags per hectare by producing 40-45 bags per hectare because they used prescribed methods.

Dr Kedikilwe said although government had made significant strides in agriculture development, there were challenges which always threatened to erode the agriculture sector. “These are associated with clinical droughts, animal and crop diseases and pests and other natural calamities,” he said.

"Horticulture production is promising in the country and in order to promote it, government has started to assist farmers through the ISPAAD horticulture component, as well as through other programmes such as Young Farmers Fund and Youth Development Fund," he said.

He said that through collaboration and advice from SPEDU, Mmadinare area stood to benefit as the nearby Motloutse River offered a source of water for irrigation. “I therefore implore everyone to seize this opportunity and do more irrigation farming,” he said.

Furthermore, he said agriculture played an important role in diversifying the economy and creating employment. To this end, he added that SPEDU and NFTRC were embarking on a horticulture processing plant in Selebi Phikwe to salvage horticulture produce in the region.

Dr Kedikilwe acknowledged the Mmadinare District Show Committee for hosting the dinner to honour him. “I am humbled and thank you most sincerely. As a resident of this district, I shall continue to support significant community efforts such as the agricultural show as it is a worthwhile activity.”

The show committee chairperson, Mr Joseph Seipato said Dr Kedikilwe had been the patron of the Mmadinare District Show for many years and ensured that event took place annually. Mr Seipato said the show served as a platform for farmers to show case their farm produce, market and sell their products.

At the dinner, over P15 000 was raised for the Mmadinare Show Committee to continue upgrading and maintaining the show ground facilities and premises. ENDS