29 Aug 2019

Citizen Entrepreneurial Development Agency (CEDA) and Botswana Agricultural Marketing Board (BAMB) have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) aimed at improving service delivery to farmers and helping them face challenges such as unfavorable weather conditions.

Speaking at the signing ceremony in Gaborone on August 27, CEDA chief executive officer, Mr Thabo Thamane revealed that after engaging farmers around the country, they realised that there was a need for a structured ecosystem that would end the current disjointed arrangement and result in improved efficiencies in service delivery to farmers.

“We decided that for us to continue assisting our farmers we need to formalise working relationship as a way of improving our service delivery. This is an ongoing process and the signing of this agreement commits us to work together more closely towards our common goal of assisting farmers to improve production in both quality and quantity," he said.

Mr Thamane further said the MoU would ensure easier and timely access to seasonal funding for farmers, which would result in reliable supply of grain from farmers to BAMB.

 Through the MoU, CEDA and BAMB will jointly undertake research on arable farming and information dissemination.

“Farmers would henceforth approach BAMB for grain supply contracts and thereafter seek funding from CEDA for funding on the basis of those contracts. This will help reduce the risks of farmers defaulting on their loan payments to CEDA,” Mr Thamane stated.

For his part, BAMB CEO, Mr Leonard Morakaladi said his organisation and CEDA were dovetailed, as they both played a major role in farming and ensuring food security in Botswana.

“BAMB is responsible for ensuring food security in the country. We therefore had to forge closer working ties with CEDA, as the financier of the agriculture sector. This is because we know that timely financing is key to better harvests,” he said.

He said BAMB would avail its branches and sales points around the country for CEDA to roll out its products and services, adding that shared projects visit and services would greatly reduce CEDA and BAMB’s transaction costs.

Both leaders expressed confidence that the MoU would enable their organisations to achieve more and develop even stronger relationships between their agencies and arable farmers. Ends