13 Nov 2014

A delegation of millers from Zimbabwe has expressed delight at the kind of support Botswana government is giving to the youth through the Youth Development Fund (YDF).

The head of delegation, Mr Allen Ndebele said this at a briefing with the leadership of the North East District Council (NEDC) on November 11.

He said it was without doubt that the support the youth were enjoying with regard to setting up their own businesses would in the long run pay great dividends to the country’s economy.

Mr Ndebele had earlier stated during his presentation that Zimbabwe was currently grappling with the issue of high youth unemployment and that it was their view that drawing their young people into farming would help mitigate the problem.

He thus had wanted to know what the Botswana government was doing to counter the same problem as well as whether there were any measures in place aimed at rendering support to farmers.

Mr Ndebele had outlined the purpose of their visit, stating that due to the scarcity and the erratic nature of the rainfall they had been receiving in recent years, they had, as millers in Zimbabwe, seen the need to incorporate smaller grains such as sorghum into the list of farm produce consumed in the country.

He said unlike maize, which is their staple food; the smaller grains were generally drought resistant and would thus still thrive even with less amounts of rainfall.

Therefore, with Botswana doing relatively well in sorghum production, Mr Ndebele said they had as Zimbabwean millers chosen to come and benchmark on the production of this crop right from ploughing to the milling and packaging stages.

He expressed optimism that the relationship between the Zimbabwean millers and the North East district would be a worthwhile exercise equally benefitting both parties.

Highlighting the key features of the YDF at the briefing, an official of the Ministry of Youth, Sport and Culture, Mr Mbiganyi Magina concurred that Botswana was also facing serious youth unemployment challenges, hence the introduction of the YDF in recent years.

He informed the visiting delegation that the YDF targeted unemployed and underemployed youths aged from 18 to 35. Mr Magina stated that in the North East district, a total of 153 youth-owned projects have been funded through the programme. Furthermore, he indicated that the funded projects had generated over 400 jobs for other young people.

For his part, Mr Ketlhapeleng Karabo of the Ministry of Agriculture briefed the visitors on the ISPAAD programme; informing them that farmers were being availed seeds, fertilisers and herbicides through the programme.

The intention, he stated, was to help subsistence farmers in particular, to improve their yields to enable them to reap the benefits of farming beyond being able to feed their families. Mr Karabo noted that in addition to being afforded such support, farmers also routinely received training on the best farming techniques available.

On market issues, he explained that government also provided the market for farmers’ produce through the Botswana Agricultural Marketing Board (BAMB).

He observed that millers, who mill and package produce, also played a vital role in providing a market, especially to the subsistence farmers. 

Earlier when welcoming the Zimbabwean delegation, NEDC council secretary, Mr Charles Amos observed that it was heartening to note that there were people who were willing to join hands with the district in ways that would be beneficial to them both.

Mr Amos pointed out that it was indeed fitting for the Zimbabwean millers to have chosen to benchmark from the North East district as the area had from time immemorial, held dear their ages-long tradition of crop production and animal rearing.

He said though the agricultural activities had mostly always been done on subsistence farming, it had over the years remained the lifeblood of the livelihood of the people of the North East district.

In addition to being briefed by the local leadership, the delegation also toured milling businesses in Masunga, Mulambakwena, Ramokgwebana and Tati Siding. ENDS