12 Oct 2016

Assistant Minister of Agricultural Development and Food Security, Mr Kgotla Autlwetse, has called on farmers to shift into commercial farming.

Addressing a series of kgotla meetings in Sajwe, Hulwane, Botepetepe and Khumanego lands on Monday (October 10) and Tuesday (October 11) , Mr Autlwetse said subsistence farming was an unproductive form

of farming that accounted for poor food production in the country.

Therefore, he called for adoption of commercial farming to maximise yields to sustain food security.

Mr Autlwetse cited innovative, modern technology and new productive farming methods as way to commercial farming.

Venturing into commercial farming, he said, would make agricultural sector the anchor of the economy, especially during this era in which revenues from minerals sector were diminishing.

Mr Autlwetse narrated to audience that when Zambia’s copper nickel mining industry went down the drain, which was their sole source of revenue, the economy also collapsed.

He stated that Zambians then resumed and commercialised agriculture that resuscitated their economy again, adding that Botswana recently imported 20 metric tons of maize from that country.

He pondered why Botswana still imported agricultural products from other countries which have large population than its population.

“Countries with large population should be our market, not us importing from them,” he said.

Selling prize of agricultural products would get a boast once Botswana started exporting, he said and attributed that selling prize of cattle was boasted by exportation of beef.

On the other hand, he explained that price rise of agricultural food commodities in the country was due to importation costs, saying that the  costs incurred to transport them to the country were included in the pricing.

He said one hector should at least produce 50 bags of sorghum or maize grains if one was into commercial farming, while the weight of livestock should be a concern for beef producers.

“As the population grows, it means some agricultural land is occupied by people thus less land for agriculture,” he said.

Therefore, Mr Autlwetse said farmers should come up with productive means to produce ample food from little portion of land.

Employment opportunities and businesses opportunities for enterprises that support as well as those that process agricultural products, he said were some of the benefits that would be reaped from commercial farming.

Also, he called for diversified farming enterprises to reap more rewards.

He stated that government as a major stakeholder has never neglected the agricultural sector and would continue supporting it. ENDS