17 Feb 2015

Parliament has approved the Ministry of Agriculture (MoA) budget proposal of over P2 billion which will be used to develop the agriculture sector and fund government policies and strategies for financial year 2015/2016.

Responding to comments legislators raised after his delivery of the budget proposal on February 16, acting Minister of Agriculture, Mr Patrick Ralotsia, thanked the legislators for raising various challenges they face in their regions regarding service they get from the ministry and welcomed suggestions.

He said lack of road infrastructure to farms remained a challenge which must be addressed to enable farm accessibility adding that they were also faced with transport challenges that hindered good extension service delivery . He said they considered outsourcing some of the functions or partnering with the private sector.

He acknowledged that farmers at times encounter challenges when they have to get their payments under the Livestock Management and Infrastructure Development (LIMID) Programme. He said they encounter problems with the government finance system GABS and he assured them they were exploring other means in order to assist farmers better.

Further he said they have noticed that there is lack of skill or knowledge on farm implements operation such as tractors by farmers and ministry has tried to address the problem through workshops .

He assured legislators that Botswana Meat Commission (BMC) is gradually regaining its ground and that Botswana beef remains well sought after in the international market particularly the European Union.

During the debates earlier on, Boteti East MP Mr Lelatisitswe Sethomo had decried poor road network infrastructure in his area requesting that sandy roads at least be made gravel roads to enable easier farm accessibility. 

He had also decried a high shortage of extension workers in his area who also had poor transport. He also suggested that LIMID programme should be extended to offer products such as borehole drilling in lands.Like MP Sethomo, Okavango MP Mr Bagalatia Arone said Shakawe village has shortage of resources adding that due to this sometimes a farmer may get a slot to sell at BMC but fail to secure assistance from extension officers which makes it difficult for the transaction to take place.

He said he still did not understand why to date the ministry had failed to find cure for Foot and Mouth disease given the highly skilled human capital it is endowed with.  Kgalagadi North MP Mr Itumeleng Moipisi suggested that government should raise its subsidy when drilling boreholes for farmers. 

He suggested government should foot the 75 per cent bill and the farmer 25 percent as opposed to the current practice.

Commenting of the Agricultural Support Services Project (ASSP) which, the minister said were nearing completion in Jwaneng, Tonota and Parakarungu, he suggested that Agricultural service centers should be built in rural areas to enable easier accessibility by farmers and not in towns.

Mmathete-Molapowabojang MP Dr Alfred Madigele said his constituency should be declared a special economic zone given the huge production projects currently ongoing. He called for roads to be developed.Molepolole South MP Dr Tlamelo Mmatli said there were not enough tractors in his areas and requested minister to allow farmers in his area to use conventional methods of ploughing to catch up with rains. ENDS