17 Jul 2014

Farming should no longer be perceived as a part time vocation, but a viable source of employment with the potential to help the country reduce the current levels of unemployment.

The senior manager at Letlhakane and Damtshaa Mines (OLDM), Mr Bakani Motlhabani, said on July 12 during Boteti Sub-district show that district shows promoted awareness that effective farming methods would increase the contribution of the agriculture sector to the economy.

Mr Motlhabani said with the on-going poverty eradication and economic diversification drive, it was expected that poverty would decrease.

However, he warned that this would not happen without an entrepreneurial mentality that will help excel and better lives of all if innovated and developed.

He recalled the President, Lt Gen. Seretse Khama Ian Khama’s speech during the inaugural Pitso ya Nyeletso Lehuma in Mahalapye, when he said:

“Achieving the noble goal of enabling most citizens to create wealth is dependent on all of us being resolute in unity, and being united as a nation. We can only eradicate poverty if we are not selfish, where we only think of ourselves, where there are others in our societies who are less fortunate. Our priority must be to target the standard of living of the poor and the jobless and to bring about meaningful improvement in the collective wellbeing of our nation.”

Mr Motlhabani said government continues to facilitate increased agricultural production through the introduction of support schemes to Batswana. Since the inception of the programmes, he said, statistics indicate that the uptake of programmes improved.

He singled out LIMID as having improved the lives of Batswana. The LIMID programme has since been extended to remote area dweller settlements of Xere, Kedia and Khwee through affirmative action, and as part of the effort to increase the agricultural output.

He said requisite infrastructure such as abattoirs and refrigeration, together with the availability of markets, was necessary for the livestock sub-sector to be viable. ENDS