20 Aug 2013

In an effort to mitigate the drought impact in Ngamiland and Bobirwa districts, the government has given farmers 35 per cent subsidy on products from LAC while other areas will get a 25 per cent subsidy.

This was said by the deputy permanent secretary in the Ministry of Agriculture, Dr Moetapele Letshwenyo at a stakeholders’ consultative meeting in Maun recently.

He said the government appreciated that Ngamiland and Bobirwa continued to experience the re-occurrence of Foot and Mouth Disease (FMD) outbreak hence it came up with a special arrangement to assist farmers.

“The two districts were hard hit by the drought and the economic hardships also made it hard for farmers to look after animals and participate in disease prevention and containment measures,” he said.

Dr Letshwenyo said 2013/14 has been declared a drought year following a drought assessment exercise conducted from April 15 to May 7.

He said the assesment revealed that rainfall was poorly distributed and below normal in most parts of the country. He added that the government concluded that the overall food situation in the country has deteriorated. In addition, Dr Letshwenyo said his ministry would ensure that all the district LAC’s are stocked with the necessary products, and advised farmers to take mitigation measures  in place to improve their lives.

With regards to securing a market for local farmers, Dr Letshwenyo said the government has decided to allow the export of live cattle.

 He said farmers wishing to sell their cattle should make private arrangements, subject to their meeting the necessary procedures and veterinary requirements by both Botswana and the recipient countries.

Farmers were also commended for working jointly with the ministry to address some of the issues raised in the last meeting.

Dr Letshwenyo noted that most of the resolutions have been implemented and urged farmers to continue supporting the ministry.

He said their cooperation would enable them to control and contain FMD. 

For their part, farmers welcomed the decision that permits them to look for their own market to sell cattle.

However, farmers urged the ministry to guide them on issues of trade protocols.

 Some farmers requested a waiver to sell cattle from 12 months and not from 30 months as is the case, arguing that selling cattle from 30 months would disadvantage them because Botswana Meat Commission would not buy.

Mr Killer Ledimo said the decision to allow farmers to look for their own market was a good move, but expressed concern that some farmers might not take advantage of the initiative because of lack of information and knowledge on external trade procedures. ENDS