03 Dec 2017

Young horticulture farmers in the Tonota area have been urged not to focus only on vegetable production while neglecting other components of the value chain. 

Chief horticulture officer in the Ministry of Agricultural Development and Food Security, Ms Kgotso Madisa echoed these sentiments during the Tonota horticultural youth field day  recently.

The field day was organised to afford young farmers the opportunity to share information and ideas and to learn from experienced farmers on how they can tackle challenges in their sector.  Ms Madisa explained that horticulture and livestock farming require resources such as seeds, feeds, vaccines, pesticides and agencies that could market produce. 

This, she highlighted, means that while other youth were engaged in production, others should also explore secondary industries such as processing plants and leather manufacturing.

She also added Tonota region was doing well in terms of youth agricultural projects, noting that the area had 1 493 LIMID beneficiaries, 74 poverty eradication beneficiaries while 881 people benefitted under ISPAAD.

 “Tonota has the highest number of active young farmers and so far the produce from horticulture and livestock is commendable,” she added. These efforts and determination by farmers, she indicated, encouraged government to invest in infrastructure developments. On other issues, Ms Madisa noted that despite the challenges that young farmers in the region faced, only passion and determination could bring success.

Furthermore, she informed the youth that knowledge acquisition in horticulture was very important if they were to succeed. Consequently, she explained that knowledge about the market was very crucial if the youth projects were to create employment. 

Chief horticulture officer also told young farmers that farming was a business, which required management plans and vaccination and spraying schedules in a timely manner.

 While appreciating the efforts of the young farmers, Ms Madisa informed them that the challenges of harsh climatic conditions were a result of the depletion of the ozone layer. Therefore, she encouraged them to practice protected cultivation, including using shade nets to improve the quality of their plants.

These shades, she highlighted, could prevent the damage visited on the farmers by the recent hailstorms. Ms Madisa challenged the young farmers to show the benefits of electricity connections in their farms.

She also raised a concern about the use of pesticides immediately before taking vegetable to the market. She highlighted that farmers should observe precautions on the amount of time that should pass before vegetables can be sold after spraying. Furthermore, she encouraged young farmers to aspire to sell their produce to outside markets.

However, she noted that this required them to meet high quality standards. Consequently, she informed horticulture farmers of a standard for vegetable products which should be followed.

“We will soon have an inspectorate which will make visits to farms to check for compliance with this standard,” she asserted. 

Meanwhile, the chairperson of the Tonota youth farmers association, Mr Goitseone Gaafiwe underscored the need for young people to learn from elderly farmers during such platforms.

 He mentioned that the youth field day afforded them the opportunity to network and benchmark. 

In addition, he maintained that they had realised that government was committed towards agriculture, hence the need to mobilise young people and give them support. 

This, he said, would assist in curbing wastage of government resources through collapsing farming ventures operated by the youth.He also said that there was a huge potential for young horticultural farmers along the Shashe River. A young farmer whose vegetables were recently destroyed by a hailstorm, Mr Motsaalore Motone explained that despite the challenges they face as young farmers, things were getting better. 

He also said that unlike in the past, he now had a market for his vegetables despite transportation hurdles. In addition, he applauded the connection of their farms to the electricity grid, noting that, diesel was too costly for them.

When encouraging the youthful farmers, an established farmer, Mr Letang Kenosi informed them that farming was a challenging vocation, which required patience and dedication.  When they started many years ago, he highlighted that they went through a lot of trials before government brought infrastructure.

He also praised government for the incoming road development project, which would cost P7 million and ease access to their farms. BOPA