31 Aug 2015

Assistant Minister of Agriculture, Mr Fidelis Molao has urged Thalogang farmers to come together and take advantage of the cluster fencing programme offered to farmers.

Addressing a kgotla meeting at Thalogang farms recently, Mr Molao explained that cluster fencing has many benefits which farmers could benefit from. He noted that upon grouping themselves to make the required 150 hactores for cluster fencing, the government drills a borehole for them. 

Mr Molao, who is also the Member of Parliament for Shashe West, said despite numerous attempts by his ministry to sensitise farmers about cluster fencing, not many have heeded the advice. He said they have realised that Batswana do not want to cooperate and work together towards a common goal. 

He noted that benefits of working as an individual were not much compared to working as a unit in many of the programmes aimed at benefiting people. Mr Molao, therefore, implored Thalogang farmers to change the stereotype many people still have that they would lose their fields if they could go for cluster fencing.

He noted that although the government has also made arrangements to assist those who want to fence their fields individually by subsidising them by half of the total costs, they would continue to encourage farmers to do cluster fencing. On other issues, he encouraged farmers to record their produce from the fields at the end of the harvesting periods with agricultural officials so that they could be assisted with the market to sell. 

He said farmers often complain that they were encouraged to go to the fields to produce food, but at the end they have nowhere to sell their produce. He revealed that his ministry has made arrangement with Botswana Marketing Board (BAMB) to go out and meet farmers and buy their produce.

 Meanwhile, farmers complained that often in agricultural programmes on the national television, they see different breeds of livestock ranging from bulls to goats.They requested the government to provide such breeds in the northern side of the country so that those who want to improve their animals could buy from the government. Ends