09 Feb 2016

A South African company, Changing Vision, is changing the vision of Nxaraga residents on farming.

The company, which uses the abundant Thamalakane River water to irrigate maize, sugar beans, cow peas and lucerne, is also imparting knowledge and skills to residents who work on the farm to also use the river to irrigate crops on a small scale.

The project, which started last May, is operating on a 300 hectare piece of land leased from a local farmer for 10 years.

The owners anticipate a harvest of betwwen 300 to 500 tonnes maize this month. After harvesting, they plan to plant sugar beans, cow peas and lucerne which would be harvested in August. The project has created employment for Nxaraga residents and also given them knowledge on irrigation farming.

It is run by three partners and one of the directors, Mr Johanna Bezuidenhout explained in an interview that the project has proven to be reliable and effective. He said the project was doing well and pointed out that their objective is to help Botswana achieve food security.

He said their aim is to plant on an annual basis since they have enough water. “We decided to venture into irrigation farming in Ngamiland District because of the river. Botswana has experienced low rainfall hence we took advantage of the river here,” he added.

He said the area has good fertile land and water, but that it was a pity that residents do not utilise their portion of land effectively to feed the nation and export to other neighbouring countries. Initially, the three partners wanted to lease the government farm in Nxaraga which has not been productive for years, but were not successful due to the process taking long.

Mr Bezuidenhout said after they acquired the land from the local farmer, they started de-bushing and fencing the farm.  The project is self-sponsored as the trio owns other business projects in South Africa.

He explained that although the river is experiencing low water levels, the government has been supportive as they were allowed to use the two water boreholes next to the river as backup.
Although the district experienced extreme temperatures recently, that did not affect production at the farm as the owners had to water 24 hours.

Furthermore, Mr Bezuidenhout noted that they had made an arrangement with the Department of Crop Production to bring in two farmers every year for benchmarking purposes.
Mr Bezuidenhout said their goal is to teach local farmers proper farming methods as they have all the equipment. His wish is to see local farmers transforming their idling fields into profitable farmland.

He appreciated the government support, noting that senior officials visit the farm regularly and advice where necessary. He also called on the government to bring services and amenities close to residents, adding that their major challenge is electricity. Mr Bezuidenhout said they use diesel engines to operate big machines at the farm.

He added that it is expensive to connect electricity as Botswana Power Corporation demands over P800 000 to assist. However, he said the market is not a problem as they have secured one at Francistown.

He explained that initially they were targeting Botswana Agricultural Marketing Board (BAMB), but realised that BAMB is too small to buy their produce. The director also noted that their goal is to own land where they could practice irrigation farming permanently, adding that the aim is to plant between 1 000- 2000 hectares.

Mr Bezuidenhout said in future they intend to plant fruit trees and more lucerne as they have realised that livestock feed is in demand in the district.
Meanwhile, the Nxaraga community has welcomed the project as it has created jobs for them.

The village Development Committee chairperson, Mr Geoffrey Manja said the project has brought a big difference in the lives of the community as it employes a large number during ploughing.
He said the project has also reduced the burden at the Ipelegeng Programme as many people were eyeing the programme to earn a living. Ends