22 Jan 2015

An official in the Ministry of Agriculture has conceded that there were delays in planting at some fields in Serowe as claimed by residents during a kgotla meeting addressed by area Member of Parliament, Mr Kgotla Autlwetse.

Mr Oreeditse Molosiwa, a plant protection officer, admitted that complaints by some beneficiaries of the ISPAAD programme were legitimate. He said some tractor owners ploughed fields, but abandoned them for others without planting.

“It is true that some tractor owners have ploughed, but not planted in some fields,” said Mr Molosiwa and warned that such owners would not be paid until they had satisfied their agreements with beneficiaries.

However, he noted that there was shortage of planters in the region and suggested that beneficiaries should find other ameliorations before the soil could dry up. He reminded residents that government only paid those who row-planted and not specifically by tractors only.

Mr Molosiwa encouraged residents to buy row planters, noting that they were cheaper than buying a new car. He also conceded challenges in plant spacing, a problem that residents had alleged.He appealed to the aggrieved farmers to lodge complaints with their offices to find how best their problems could be addressed.ENDS