24 Jul 2016

Vice President Mokgweetsi Masisi has implored Batswana to exploit the agricultural sector by adopting strategies that improve and boost food production.

Officially opening the Serowe District Agricultural Show on July 22, Mr Masisi urged farmers to produce more than they need so that they could sell the surplus to ensure that there was food security.

He said although the country was prone to drought, farmers should implement strategies that would obviate the consequences of drought.   

“Instead of using drought as an excuse to the decline of productivity, we need to embrace smart agriculture,” he explained. 

Vice President Masisi added that if agriculture could be adequately exploited, it had the potential for import substitution and anchoring the economy.

He added that the government was channeling a lot of money into the sector. 

“Mushrooms have a great market, but few, if not none of the farmers in Botswana is growing them,” he noted.

He also said livestock artificial insemination should be fully utilised. “One day we should be gathered like this auctioning the semen of our livestock,”  he said.

Mr Masisi also urged all stakeholders in agriculture to produce quality products, adding that the government was committed to boosting the agricultural sector.

He said some funds would be invested in the agricultural sector through the Economic Stimulus Programme (ESP), and that the government would continue implementing the Economic Diversification Drive (EDD) to enhance agriculture. 

He added that through ESP and EDD they were expecting a positive result.

The Vice President also cited other programmes such as the Integrated Support Programme for Arable Agriculture Development (ISPAAD), Citizen Entrepreneurial Development Agency  (CEDA) and Youth Development Fund that he said government would continue injecting money on them so that they sufficiently fund the agricultural sector.

He said the government shall invoke the Agricultural Credit Guarantee Scheme to provide assistant to farmers who secured their loans from CEDA and the National Development Bank).

He said assistant would be extended to those who paid their contributions towards the insurance scheme.

He said 15 per cent will be paid by the borrower while the government will pay 85 per cent.

The Vice President thanked international judges for spreading their geographical area of work and applauded farmers for offering their livestock and produce to be judged. 

He also called for the upskilling of local agricultural judges in order to raise the standard of agriculture in the country.

Assistant Minister of Agriculture, Mr Kgotla Autlwetse said agricultural produce in Botswana was still low even when there was ample rainfall. Ends