02 Jul 2015

Batswana have been implored to help government to fight cattle diseases.

Speaking during the Nata/Gweta Block B Beef Producers Association field day in Zoroga recently, Minister of Agriculture, Mr Patrick Ralotsia, said the responsibility of fighting cattle diseases should not be only for the government and farmers but for the whole nation. 

He said Botswana, as a supplier of beef to the European Union market, should be  vigilant on fighting cattle diseases. 

He pointed out that the country had been fighting Foot and Mouth Disease and there had been another battle for measles, a disease he said was caused by animals feeding on human waste.

He said the Ministry of Agriculture had engaged farmers along the cordon fences to help them maintain the fence at a minimum fee of P55.45 per day per person and requested members of the public to come forward and help government to maintain the fence.

The year 2014/2015, he said, had been a difficult year for all farmers in the country and there is already serious shortage of vegetation and animal feed.

“These challenges require farmers to realise that implementation of technologies and systems that both reduce costs and enhance productivity are not an option but a necessity,” he said.

He urged Nata/Gweta farmers to move away from subsistence to commercial farming and adopt new method of farming. ENDS