19 Jan 2015

Farmers in Kavimba have complained about shortage of tractors in their area, which they said might expose their crops to seasonal floods if they planted late.

In an interview, Kgosi Maiba Sinvula of Kavimba said shortage of tractors remains a challenge as government and community trust.  “Residents are complaining that their fields still have not been ploughed, and my tractor is now servicing people from as far as Satau and Parakarungu,” he explained. 

Kgosi Sinvula explained that they preferred to plough earlier to avoid destruction of their crops when floods come in March.  Through molapo farming, where fields are situated on the bank of the Chobe River, they are able to use moisture from the river to nourish their plants way ahead of rains.

Kgosi Sinvula suggested that since all residents practice molapo farming, it would be worthwhile for the government to avail seeds to them as early as July or August.  That, he said, would give them ample time to harvest before the flooding season, utilising available moisture from the river. 

Animals also posed a threat to their crops, as Kgosi Sinvula explained that livestock belonging to some residents trouble their fields because the owners were reluctant to relocate their livestock to cattle-posts. 

In addition, Kgosi Sinvula complained about late payments by the Ministry of Agriculture after rendering services with his tractor.  In a good year, Kgosi Sinvula harvests 40 bags of maize from his five hectare field. 

“Market access unfortunately remains a challenge for us because last season Botswana Agricultural Marketing Board (BAMB) did not buy my produce, and because of that I lost 30 bags of maize to weevils (tshupa),” he noted. Sinvula also decried low buying prices by BAMB. 

A solution, he suggested, would be to allow them to sell their produce to neighbouring countries such as Namibia.  Another farmer, Mr Sampani Maira was waiting for the Chobe Enclave Community Trust (CECT) tractor to plough his fields. 

But he was losing hope as queuing for the tractor had taken long and time was not on his side.  “I’m worried that floods are going to catch up with my produce before I harvest,” he said.

There were many farmers like him, he said, who were yet to plough their fields.  Like Kgosi Sinvula, he was also worried about livestock and warthogs damaging his crops. 

Mr Maira has a little less than a hectare and on average he harvests about five bags of maize from his small farm, and unlike Kgosi Sinvula, he does not have to worry about market prices or access.

When contacted for comment, BAMB, through their marketing and communications manager, Ms Lorato Kwelagobe said it was untrue that they had refused to buy anyone’s produce.  Ms Kwelagobe stated that they bought produce from July 10 until August 14 from farmers who had stored produce at Mabele. 

She said they liaised with agriculture extension officers in the region to inform farmers of the dates for purchasing.  “There were two farmers with maize who wanted to be assisted from their homesteads instead of taking their produce to the lock up stores, who were not assisted as this is not procedural,” she said.

Ms Kwelagobe explained that there were set standards of quality for grain that was intended for human consumption.  Reached for comment, the district agricultural coordinator, Mr Rapelang Sebadieta confirmed that there was shortage of tractors in the Chobe enclave. 

“We have four tractors but we are waiting for spare parts for two of them, another one is down and only one is functioning currently,” he explained.  He added that there were about 20 private tractors bought last year, but that most of them had already broken down. ENDS