06 Aug 2019

Citizen Entrepreneurship Development Agency (CEDA) chief executive officer, Mr Thabo Thamane says farmers play a significant role in supporting the country’s food security productions despite challenges of changing weather patterns which continue to frustrate their efforts. 

Giving a keynote address at a five-day 2019 Southern District Agricultural Show  recently, he assured farmers that CEDA would continue them.

“Our wish is to enhance our partnership with farmers, so that their contribution to local food production soars to a point of sufficiency in food products. We therefore once again assure you of our continued financial support,” he said. 

He noted that CEDA was proud to associate and offer support to farmers country wide, adding that it was easier for CEDA to support farmers when they group themselves to form associations or societies. 

He mentioned that CEDA had provided a  P500 000 sponsorship for the show over a period of three years, adding that they would collaborate with the committee to develop the show ground and help revive the show. 

He said if funds permit, they would  increase the sponsorship.

“CEDA shares the same objective with the show committee which is, to sensitise and raise awareness about agriculture as means of employment creation for Batswana,” he said.

He further said, CEDA continued to invest significantly in the region and that to date they had invested P365.4 million across different sectors of the economy, being agribusiness, services, property and manufacturing. 

“Agribusiness sector contributes 53 per cent of the total investment at P193 million, followed by services at P91.6 million, (25 per cent), manufacturing at P46 million (13 per cent), property at P34,7 million which is 9 per cent of the investment,” he said.

Regarding the event theme; The Position of Agriculture Going into a Knowledge Based Economy,  he opined that it came at a time when government was embarking on transition from being a resource driven economy to a diversified knowledge based economy. 

Mr Thamane therefore urged government to assist farmers with better agricultural extension and advisory services that would provide technics to adapt to changes in agriculture, particularly changes in climatic conditions. 

“Whether it is better meeting of nutritional needs, promoting health and financial security, improving the efficiency of water use, reducing land use, or any of the other competing demands on farming services, they are best met through improved practices based on knowledge,” he said.

He shared that Botswana was leading the continent in fighting Foot and Mouth Disease through controlled zones, buffers and vaccinations. 

“We produce Foot and Mouth vaccines that we export to other countries in the region, and this is one knowledge that we have to harness and benefit economically from,” he said.

He further said there was need to also look into other ailments in agriculture for the country to realise a sustainable economic growth as espoused in the Vision 2036. 

Mr Thamane noted the research institutions such as National Food Technology Research Centre (NFTRC), which have the mandate of undertaking research on post-harvest, technologies, commercialisation of value added products and improve the food security of the country. 

He said knowledge based economy challenged all to move from relying solely on traditional ways, adding that such was not a suggestion of abandonment of traditional methods which were still relevant. 

“All I am saying is that let us build what has worked for us as we find new solutions using technologies and modern ways available,” he said. 

He said the responsibility of transforming the agricultural sector does not lie on the ministry alone.

Mr Thamane said initiatives were put in place to assist farmers in light of the prevailing climatic conditions.

“Such initiatives include, restructuring of loans for those farmers that could not pay their instalments due to losses associated with adverse weather conditions,” he said. 

Mr Thamane noted that CEDA continued to engage and collaborate with other stakeholders such as the Botswana Agricultural Marketing Board to find means of assisting farmers. 

Other initiatives, he said, included the provision of free business advisory services to farmers as well as encourage linkages across the industry value chain, and to encourage farmers to subscribe to the Agricultural Credit Guarantee Scheme set up by government to assist dry-land farmers with crop cover. 

“The cover is meant to assist dry-land crop farmers in reducing their debt obligations with participating bank(s)/lending institutions in case of crop failure due to drought, floods, frost and hailstorm,” he said. 

He acknowledged government efforts in helping farmers through subsidising of prices on livestock feeds and supplements, which said would go a long way in assisting farmers meet the climatic challenges. 

“As an agency, we pledge our support to these initiatives, as we stand ready to assist farmers across the country to adapt to these changes,” he added.

The show committee chairperson Mr Chris Gofhamodimo called for more participation in the event and implored exhibitors to bring more products in the next exhibition to help improve the standard of the show. Ends