10 Feb 2016

The Ministry of Agriculture has engaged 58 youth in Maun to assist in the ongoing ear tagging exercise in Ngamiland.

The ministry’s public relations officer in the North West region, Mr Clifford Molefe said the youth,  who were trained by the veterinary services department would assist farmers in capturing and storing information of their livestock into the system.
He added that the taggers would assist in the exercise which is expected to be completed by end of March.

Mr Molefe also noted that the exercise would be carried out for free only in Ngamiland as farmers in the region were faced with challenges such as the lack of a market, diseases such as FMD and drought.

He noted that farmers have been struggling to find a market for their cattle while the number of cattle has been increasing thereby making it difficult for them to pay for the ear tags.

He, however, said the exercise would be carried out once, and that farmers would be liable for payment of tagging their calves born after the exercise. The ear tags are sold at P20 per pair. Mr Molefe said although they went through few villages addressing kgotla meetings, the exercise has been applauded by many farmers who were not able to raise funds for the ear tags. He advised farmers to take the ear tags from the veterinary offices and seek an ear tagger who would assist in the whole process.

Meanwhile, North West District Council chairperson, Mr Reaboka Mbulawa also said the government was doing a lot in dealing with the situation faced by farmers in Ngamiland.

He said an assessment team was expected this month to assess the whole region’s status in relation to drought and diseases  such as FMD.  Mr Mbulawa said the findings would also assist the government to address the issue of National Development Bank (NDB) loans. Ends