15 Aug 2013

The Acting Minister of Agriculture, Mr Oreeditse Molebatsi says restocking of cattle in Mmadinare/Bobirwa Sub-district (Zone 7) has started.

Briefing the media on August 13, the acting minister said to date, 670 cattle had been distributed to 92 farmers, adding that all the remaining cattle for Zone 7 had been secured in Ghanzi.

“We are just awaiting the 21 days quarantine period to elapse and they will then be transported to the Mmadinare/Bobirwa for distribution to farmers in the first week of September,” he said.

On other issues, Mr Molebatsi explained that following the destruction of over 25 000 goats to eradicate Foot and Mouth Disease (FMD) from the containment zone in Zone 6 (North East District), surveillance was on-going to ascertain disease freedom status and pave way for restocking for both cattle and goats.

In compliance with the World Organisation for Animal Health requisite, work was underway to realign containment zone to create a protection zone for Zone 6. Mr Molebatsi also briefed the media on the FMD situation in Ngamiland which he said had significantly improved and responded well to control measures.

He however said some parts of the district continued to experience sporadic cases as a result of freely available water which gave rise to uncontrolled animal movements and poor vaccination coverage. The acting minister also talked about government dispensation to allow for export of live cattle to some countries including South Africa and Zimbabwe

Mr Molebatsi further said government had decided to introduce integrated farming to encourage diversification and productivity within the agricultural sector . “Integrated farming is practiced only on fenced land parcels and the different agriculture activities must be compatible with another to avoid cross contamination and infection,” he said.

On the national agricultural show, Mr Molebatsi explained that Debswana Mining Company, which was the main show sponsor, had increased its championship prize to P700 000 from last year’s P600 000.

Mr Molebatsi also said the company had also sponsored the construction of a judging ring with a seating capacity of 500 people. The construction of the judging ring was expected to start immediately after this year's show.

Other sponsors of the show, scheduled to begin on August 26 to September 1, were Stanbic Bank which would construct livestock kraals worth P600 000 while Haskins and Sons donated a tractor and plough.

Others would be National Development Bank (NDB), Botswana Agricultural Marketing Board (BAMB) and Techno Feeds. For his part, Permanent Secretary in the Ministry Dr Micus Chimbombi said the cooking facility in the Maun Abattoir would be increased to improve sales.

He also assured Batswana that government had no intention to close the Botswana Meat Commission (BMC) in Lobatse adding that the objective was to make it a sustainable and viable. Ends