06 Sep 2016

Food production and security is expected to increase in Chobe with the latest handover of agricultural machinery and implements worth over P1 million; courtesy of the United Nations Development Programme through their Bio-Chobe project.

Receiving the implements on Monday, Vice President, Mr Mokgweetsi Masisi challenged Chobe farmers to prove their worth and justify why they had to receive the donation instead of other farmers elsewhere.

“The burden is on you to prove that you deserve this more than anyone else, and since these are communal resources, you must put national interests ahead of individual or political agendas,” he cautioned.

He highlighted that this could not have come at a better time as agricultural production in Chobe west had gone down as a result of climate change and high levels of human-wildlife conflict.

“As part of the Bio-Chobe project, farmers will be encouraged to adopt modern farming practices such as minimum tillage, crop cover and rotation to reduce the impact of climate change,” he noted.He added that to address human-wildlife conflict, the Ministry of Agriculture through Integrated Support Programme for Arable Agriculture Development (ISPAAD) encouraged farmers to cluster fence their fields to reduce crop damage by wildlife.

He thanked the UNDP for getting it right at the right time remaining responsive and relevant to the needs and demands of the community.

“This is in line with our country’s development agenda trajectory and it is spot on,” the Vice President noted.

The Minister of Agriculture, Mr Patrick Ralotsia underscored the need for stakeholder collaboration with government in promoting food security. He stated that the donation came after farmers decried lack of resources to implement conservation agriculture after a benchmarking trip in Zambia last year.

United Nations Resident Coordinator, Mr Anders Pedersen said donation of the climate smart agriculture tools was an effort to improve food security and rural households’ income levels, which he said was in line with the mandate of UNDP in enhancing sustainable development and poverty eradication.

He added that during the last 25 years, Botswana was affected by at least five major droughts. 

“This left the poorest and disadvantaged groups food insecure as they tend to depend on climate-sensitive livelihoods such as agriculture, which makes them disproportionately vulnerable to climate change,” he said.

As such, he highlighted that conservation should benefit all, especially the poor.

Member of Parliament for Chobe, Mr Machana Shamukuni thanked Bio-Chobe for the donation and applauded them for doing a lot for the district.

 He promised to ensure that farmers made use of the support provided by the office. ENDS