21 Nov 2014

Failure by farmers to declare farm 
produce makes it difficult for extension officers to give a true reflection of
 annual production across the country.

The 
inconsistency may to a greater extent have a negative impact on the country’s
food security. Acting district
crop production officer for Southern district, Mr Mark Tshegetsang in an 
interview decried the tendency saying it needs to be stopped.

“Failure to 
declare harvest can only mean we do not give the actual figure because the only 
figures that we give are the ones we get from the farmers after consumption and 
selling their produce and remaining bags may be the only ones counted,” he
said.

Mr 
Tshegetsang said in particular, subsistence farmers’ poor record keeping is to
 blame. Subsistence farmers, he said, usually failed to record harvest that they 
consume and sell and only get to record the one they store. He said even those
that have been drilled on the importance of record keeping have shown little
commitment to heed advice from extension officers.

“Ideally
 farmers should be the ones that furnish us with such information but because of
 their lack of commitment, we have taken it upon ourselves to visit their farm s
to get such but also, lack of transport due to difficult economic conditions
 has proven to be our main undoing,” he said adding that some farmers do this to
 get back at extension officers whom they accuse for ‘failing’ to visit them. To address the matter, Mr Tshegetsang informed BOPA that clusters have been established to 
facilitate exchange of information among farmers. ENDS