23 Apr 2015

The Minister of Agriculture, Mr Patrick Ralotsia, has urged farmers in Mahalapye Sub-district to form committees and cooperatives in order to share ideas on development of farming.


Mr Ralotsia said this during the Mahalapye agricultural field day held at Setsile in the Thokolo Extension area on April 21. 
He said Batswana used to have cooperatives that collapsed due to various reasons, but encouraged them to revive them for their own good.


The minister noted that other countries used to come to Botswana to benchmark on how they operated, adding that it was high time they were revived.

Mr Ralotsia said his ministry had staff in all districts to facilitate the initiative.
 He said it was critical that farmers and technocrats should join hands to come up with appropriate strategies to address issues of food production lest the development wagon leaves them behind.


On other issues, Mr Ralotsia noted that farming remains the mainstay of livelihoods of Batswana, and that Batswana should stick to the commitment and be competitive even during trying years.


The minister said his ministry was facing challenges of feeding both the people and livestock. He said more has to be produced in both crops and livestock sub sectors.
 He said the government was doing all it could to revive agriculture and needed partnerships of dedicated farmers.


Mr Ralotsia said one of the objectives of the day was to witness a technological demonstration that showed that all was not lost after crop failure. 
 The theme of the event was: Integrating crop and livestock farming systems: a captivating link in the wake of climate change.


The minister said it was a powerful message to farmers and stakeholders to consider farming holistically. 
Mr Ralotsia explained that the move to salvage failed crops was a chapter in farming that farmers should strive to uphold since most Batswana farmers embarked on both crop and livestock production.


He said the Central District, like the rest of the country, has not been spared by insufficient rainfall, adding that this year the rest of the country would not only be faced by inadequate food, but also acute water shortage.


Mr Ralotsia explained that the area ploughed in the district for this cropping season was expected to be around 80 000 hectares which was about 44 per cent of the area ploughed in the last season.


He noted that in the Mahalapye Sub-district only 50 per cent or 10 000 hectares of arable land has been utilised this year. He noted that only two per cent or 200 hectares was planted with fodder crops. Mr Ralotsia said he hoped the area planted for fodder crops would increase.
He noted that the substantial decrease in the area planted this year was primarily due to inadequate rains. ENDS