17 May 2016

A young dry land farmer in the Southern district has advised government service providers through a platform that was provided by the Presidential Inspectorate Task Force Team in Mmathethe to assist farmers urgently.

Mr Tlotlego Mpudi who is a success story of the Youth Development Fund (YDF) programme told the meeting that he had repaid the loan he had sourced from government and subsequently applied for re-financing to expand his venture September 2015, but has yet to be assisted.He explained that most of farmers were frustrated by red tape especially with regards to financing to sustain their lives, feed the nation and create employment for other Batswana through farming.

He stressed that since dry land farming relied solely on rain water, therefore assisting them with timely seasonal loans could enable them to plough in time.Mr Mpudi also said land shortage hamstrung particularly youth farmers to venture into full time farming.

He shared that he had leased 130 hectares of land near Jwaneng which he paid P 40 000 per year.

He furthermore shared that although he has registered a company with the intention to assist farmers to control weeds, extension officers in his area would not allow him to do so without due licencing which he said denied Batswana a chance to benefit from his services.

Another success story of the now defunct Arable Land Development Programme, Mr Walebatla Lekgoa said he was assisted with six cattle in 2000 and never looked back.He told the meeting that he was very poor when he got the assistance, but through hard work and persistence poverty has now become a thing of the past for him and his family.

Mr Lekgoa however advised government to halt Ipelegeng projects around farm lands during ploughing seasons to encourage unemployed Batswana to take advantage of the ISPAAD programme and better the conditions of their lives. Another beneficiary, Mr Ofents