04 Jun 2013

Farmers in the Okavango Sub-district have been advised to lend their fields to others to use for ploughing to fight poverty.

Addressing farmers at Etsha 13 on June 3, an official of the Ministry of Agriculture based in Gumare, Mr Thamane Babitseng said farmers should learn to work together to utilise government assistance programmes. “If you are not planning to plough this season, lend a section of your field to someone who can utilize it,” he said.

Mr Babitseng informed farmers about the new guidelines for Integrated Support Programme for Arable Agricultural Development (ISPAAD), adding that farmers who planted in rows would benefit from draught power payments and inputs subsidy. He said the payment rates for ploughing had been increased from P400 to P800 per hectare.

Farmers were also informed that government was assisting them to promote food security at household and national level. He encouraged them to plough crops that were fairly adaptable to their environment in order to have a good harvest. He further cautioned farmers to refrain from the tendency of eating treated seeds as they posed danger to their health.

One farmer, Mr France Mashongo complained about wild animals especially elephants that destroyed their crops and field fences. Some farmers suggested that spacing between rows when planting should be reviewed. They suggested that the spacing should be one metre to control land wastage.  

Commenting on the review of space, Mr Babitseng said it was not wise to plough many crops with small space between rows since plants would compete for space and that would result in low crop yield.

He testified about the village‘s agricultural demonstrator,  Mr Tshidiso Karome, whom he said harvested 19 bags of peas from one hector, just bu using one metre spacing between rows. Giving a vote of thanks, Councillor Dikoro Ngunga of Etsha 13 thanked Mr Babitseng and his team for sharing the ISPAAD new guidelines.

He advised farmers to work hand in hand with their agricultural demonstrators and pleaded with the farmers to start preparing for the ploughing season as early as possible. Cllr Ngunga advised the village committee members to be active and start working with other farmers in the village. ENDS