22 Jul 2013

The Assistant Minister of Agriculture, Mr Oreeditse Molebatsi has urged farmers to take advantage of existing government programmes to uplift themselves.

Responding to a question in Parliament, Mr Molebatsi said farmers could take advantage of programmes such as Livestock Management and Infrastructure Development (LIMID) and Integrated Support Programme for Arable Agriculture Development (ISPAAD).

The latter, he explained, had been reviewed recently to address the needs of farmers. Mr Molebatsi also acknowledged that farmers who lost their livestock were facing a difficult time. However, he said they were compensated in cash for 30 per cent of the cattle while the rest will be compensated for through restocking.

The assistant minister said restocking will be done soon as obligatory waiting (surveillance) period of three months has expired.

Francistown South MP, Mr Wynter Mmolotsi had asked the minister to state if there are any contingency plans in place to ensure that Tati East farmers whose cattle and goats were killed have something to survive on.  ENDS