05 Aug 2019

Managing Director of Soda Ash Botswana, Mr Kangangwane says the mine is working on a project to produce fertilisers using Sulphate of Potash (SOP) gran.

According to research, Sulphate of Potash gran is a highly concentrated two nutrient fertiliser with 50 per cent K2O and 18 per cent Sulphate and is water-soluble, so that the nutrients K and S are immediately plant available.

Speaking at Totona Sub-district agricultural show on Saturday, Mr Phatshwane said once the project was completed, Botswana would be the only country in Africa to produce such a fertilizer.

He said the fertilizer was good for drought stricken Southern African countries with poor soils because of unreliable rainfall patterns.

Mr Phatshwane said currently countries in Africa import the fertiliser from other continents, which is costly.

He said the mine had already done the pre-feasibility study of the project and would soon embark on the feasibility study.

He also commended the government for introducing relief assistance programmes to help farmers mitigate effects of drought and climate change, and for its agricultural extension services.

He stated that the installation of electric fence at Gulushabe and Ditladi cluster farms was also a welcome development to prevent animals from destroying crops.

However, he said a lot still needed to be done to help the agricultural sector thrive, such as water reticulation, roads infrastructure and connecting farms to electricity grid.

He said good roads could ease movement of produce to the market whilst electricity would be used to operate modern farming equipment.

However, he appealed to farmers to also come on board and do something to compliment what the government had already done and to embrace water harvesting.

Mr Phatshwane also spoke about climate change and its effects on the agricultural sector saying the north eastern region used to yield more production in the 1930s,.

He further stated that statistics indicated that out of the 25 000 hectares of fields that were ploughed in the past ploughing season in Tonota Sub-district, 48 per cent of the farms performed badly because of lack of rainfall due to climate change.

Area MP Mr Thapelo Olopeng wondered why this year’s agricultural show was not attractive as compared to last year’s which was bigger and better.

However, he said to make the coming show attractive, it was better to start preparing for next year’s show now adding that future agricultural shows must not be treated as events but as projects.

He said the district had everything at its disposal to make next year’s agricultural show a success and that blame could not be shifted to other similar competing events because

‘We have entered a competition space with other districts.We are going to involve everyone right from the political leadership down to the person at the bottom to make next year’s agricultural show a success’. Chairperson of the organising committee, Mr Motshegetsi Masoba said they had invited 16 companies to exhibit at this year’s agricultural show and only a few turned up because there was another similar competing event in Patamantenga.  

He also informed the gathering that Debswana mining company sponsored the event with P15 000 which was used to construct kraals, install burglar bars in some stalls, among others. ENDS