14 May 2017

The Ministry of Agricultural Development and Food Security in conjunction with BITRI has encouraged Maubelo farmers to practice climate smart agriculture in order to realise good yields.
When presenting objectives of the day during a field day held at Mr Ogapile Gasejewe’s farm on Thursday, an agronomist, Ms Osenotse Galetlale said there was need for farmers to adopt new methods of ploughing such as ripping.
She pointed out that ripping enabled farmers to use resources wisely as they only cultivated the land they were going to use.
Ms Galetlale said ripping was also good given the unpredictable rainfall patterns as it helped conserve moisture hence farmers seldom go wrong with it.

She encouraged other farmers who attended the field day to tell their counterparts the benefits of ripping, adding that they must adopt new methods and machinery so that they produce more food.
One of BITRI officials, Ms Kgomotsego Motopi pointed out that currently they were working with some farmers in the area to promote climate smart agriculture to conserve water and avoid soil erosion.
She pointed out that the project which was expected to take three years, was already showing good results in its first year as most of the farmers on the pilot project have realised better yields this year.
Mr Thapelo Otisitswe, a technical officer at ASSP, encouraged farmers to practice crop rotation to fight weeds and pests which negatively affected the yield.

He advised them to plough land that they could manage as small scale farmers to make it easier for them to control weeds and apply fertilizers.
Farmers who attended the field day expressed optimism that ripping could work for their region.
One of the locals at the event, Mr Tshipietsile Mothelesi encouraged fellow farmers to take heed of the advice given so that they could be able to feed the nation and their families. ENDS