30 Jul 2018

The chief operations officer from CEDA, Mr Andrew Madeswi has implored Kgalagadi South farmers to consider forming cooperatives to succeed in their farming endeavours.

“Research in some African countries shows that cooperatives are the backbone of some countries, hence it is important to seriously consider forming associations and cooperatives,” he said.

Mr Madeswi, who was the guest speaker during the Kgalagadi South Agricultural Show held in Tsabong over the weekend said the cooperative model would enable them to be commercial.

He said if they were a group, they could be able to sell their products in places such as Gaborone where the market was lucrative, adding that the move would also enable them to learn from one another.

Mr Madeswi said his agency was mandated by government to fund any business that was meant to benefit the country and the community at large.

He said that it was for that reason that they continued funding different projects including agriculture, revealing that CEDA had already spent from last year, more than P150 million on agricultural projects.

He challenged farmers to not despair when their requests were not successful because they could not all be successful, adding further that some people did not qualify for funding because they sometimes failed to show how they were going to care for their livestock.

Mr Madeswi urged those who attended the show to make use of the natural resources found in their locality, adding that livestock was the mainstay of their livelihood.

Furthermore, he challenged them to think outside the box in utilising their livestock because they had quality animals that could help with job creation.

The Jwaneng Mine representative, Mr Louis Baseki said they had contributed P7 million to the agricultural sector over the past seven years in their quest to diversify the economy.

He pointed out that the agricultural sector was an integral part of the social and economic fabric of the society hence the need to revolutionalise it by strengthening production. 

The mine donated P150 000 towards the show while Botswana Housing Corporation pledged P20 000.

The theme of the event was; Sustainable rural economics through agricultural development. ENDS