29 Jul 2014

Pastoral farmers have been advised to take care of their animals.

Speaking during a kgotla meeting in Shoshong on July 28, the Assistant Minister of Agriculture, Mr Oreeditse Molebatsi urged farmers to look after their cattle.

Mr Molebatsi noted that cattle were important for economic development. He said through taking care of their cattle, Batswana could reap financial rewards and have better lives.

He advised against letting cattle go astray, making them travel long distances and feeding them on anything as that could endanger, not only their lives, but also compromise the quality of the beef.

He noted that cattle could look fat and healthy, but fail to attain high prices at Botswana Meat Commission (BMC) because the meat was of low quality. He said for cattle to produce quality meat, they should be well taken care of.

Mr Molebatsi, who is also the Member of Parliament for Tswapong North, also called on farmers to start rearing dairy cattle for milk production and profit making. 

He said Botswana was in need of 60 million litres of milk annualy and yet only five million litres was produced. He further said the country was in the process of buying artificial inseminators to sell to farmers who were interested in rearing dairy cattle.

He said the Tswana breed would be used to breed dairy cattle and requested Batswana to come forth and purchase the artificial inseminator.

Mr Molebatsi also advised farmers to branch into other forms of farming such as chicken and fruit and vegetable farming.

He said mixed farming would ensure that Batswana do not depend on buying from neighbouring countries.

Mr Molebatsi also urged Batswana to be fully prepared for the next ploughing season.

The kgotla meeting was also attended by officials from the National Development Bank (NDB) who informed farmers about available loans, and Botswana Agricultural Marketing Board (BAMB) officials who explained the kind of farm produce they needed. ENDS