23 Jul 2017

Vice President, Mr Mokgweetsi Masisi has urged farmers in Moshupa Sub-district to practice smart agriculture in order to combat climate change.

Mr Masisi made the call during the official opening of Moshupa Agricultural Show on July 21. 

He noted that smart agriculture was in line with Vision 2036 ideals of a sustainable, technology driven and commercially viable sector.

He also informed farmers that Vision 2036 was desirable of a disease-free agricultural sector that optimised land use, technologies and modern farming methods to enhance productivity.

He said the vision also encouraged the development of private sector led value chains including production, processing, marketing and the use of distribution technologies.

He challenged the Ministry of Agricultural Development and Food Security to use available human resources to empower farmers to achieve better yields.

He said farmers should be taught basic accounts, and that the ministry should gauge whether technology was optimally used to improve yields.

He noted that Israel was by and large a desert, but that it able to produce food surplus and sell to other nations, due to technology based farming.

Mr Masisi also noted that Moshupa Sub-district has been zoned for cereals, especially sorghum, legumes, fruits, vegetables, fodder and beef production. 

He challenged farmers and stakeholders to zero in on products suitable for the area and to maximise production through technology, soil testing, supplementary feeding and moisture conservation.

The Vice President also  noted that government provided subsistence farmers with seeds, fertilizers, herbicides and draught power for free while emerging and commercial farmers enjoyed 35 and 30 per cent subsidy on the same respectively. 

He urged farmers to form clusters so that they could be assisted to fence their field and mentor each other within a cluster.

Mr Masisi affirmed that government would continue providing an enabling policy framework for the sector. 

He noted that in the past it was not easy for farmers to practise integrated farming, but that the bottleneck has been removed.

Mr Masisi, who is also the MP for Moshupa/Manyana, thanked organisers for the show and advised them to grow it bigger. 

He said stakeholders such as water engineers, soil scientists, solar energy technologists and the business sector should be invited in future.

Mr Masisi further urged the show committee to apply for land to be used as a permanent show ground, and encouraged residents to beef up the committee with their expertise and spirit of service. 

Mr Masisi also advised show organisers to make the show more interactive in order to enable farmers to share ideas. 

He said district agricultural shows created a platform for farmers to network, share knowledge and experiences, adding that stakeholders and suppliers also took advantage of the event to share the latest products and technologies in the market.

He explained that district shows had been decentralised to sub districts to allow for more exhibitors from the area to showcase their products. 

Mr Masisi was impressed that over 276 farmers from within the sub district showcased their products and applauded them for using the show to penetrate the market.

He challenged cereal farmers to package the traditional maize snack, kabu just like Simba Chips.

He also encouraged them to can beans. 

“Because you produce more beans here why not go into the system of canning them especially the black eyed ones?  If you don’t produce for yourselves you’ll always depend on others to supply you, but if you produce for yourselves they will also have something to buy from you,” he said.

On other issues, Vice President Masisi lamented that show ground facilities were vandalised across the country, adding that funds were spent annually on renovations rather than growth and diversification. ENDS