21 May 2017

Despite government’s efforts to encourage and support Batswana to venture into farming, farmers especially those into horticultural production fail to meet demand.

This emerged during a recent media tour of projects established through the Local Enterprise Authority (LEA) interventions.

Ovine Farms, owned by Ms Keneilwe and Mr Oscar Ramonameng is a citizen owned integrated farm of 98 hectares and produces cabbage, dairy, fodder, spinach, tomatoes, sunflower and small stock.

Mr Ramonameng who worked as an operator at Debswana mine, resigned from his job in 2009 to venture in to farming and his partner followed suit.

The business was financed through the owners’ savings and assisted by First National Bank Botswana with P870 000.

The duo started with small stock production which later financed horticultural wing and fodder production and thereafter added dairy production.

The project started in 2007 and registered with LEA in 2008. Horticulture production followed planting cabbage and supplying to retail shops in Letlhakane and Orapa such as Shoppers/Sefalana, Spar and Choppies.

Mr Ramonameng noted that cabbage seedlings took four months to be ready for market noting that the farm had 20 000 heads ready for market.

He noted that being able to supply constantly was a challenge as that required 800 heads per day.

Another challenge he said was negotiating prices with retailers who lower prices.

In the past, he said they had to deal with employees who were not reliable as well as exorbitant fuel prices.

Only five of the 98 hectares is used for planting according to Mr Ramonameng and the farm has a borehole which facilitates drip irrigation.

The other portion of the farm he said was used for dairy and small-stock production and currently the farm had 20 breeding goats and 20 sheep.

Small-stock production he said boosted the business as he managed to buy another farm from its profit.

For dairy production, Mr Ramonameng said the farm had eleven cows that produced 150 to 200 litres of milk a day which they supply to individuals in Letlhakane.

The intention he said was to erect a milking parlour to supply retailers in Boteti.

However, Ms Ramonameng said the business was struggling with the loan repayment.

She also decried high diesel prices which she said, cost them P15 000 per month.

She said they were planning to connect electricity and that alone required P1.8 million.

LEA communications manager, Mr Wanetsha Mosinyi said LEA had proposed that government should consider subsidising farmers for electricity installation in order to improve farming and enable the use of technology. ENDS