04 Dec 2019

Department of Crop Production director, Mr Galeitsiwe Ramokapane, has called on district agricultural coordinators in the Central District to be well prepared to assist farmers this ploughing season.

He made the call when addressing officers in Palapye recently.

Mr Ramokapane indicated that concerns raised by field crop farmers should be handled amicably.

He urged the agricultural coordinators to always be accountable for their areas.

“You should inspect and register all the farmers in your areas for development of plans and also have meetings to teach and sensitise farmers on how best to improve productivity,” he said.

Mr Ramokapane stated that officers were mandated to coordinate crop production accordingly in order for farmers to produce a good yield. He said one of the main objectives of the Integrated Support Programme for Arable Agriculture Development (ISPAAD) was to improve arable sub-sector productivity.

The director emphasised need for use of hybrid seeds, application of fertilisers and utilisation of row planting method.

Officers were also advised to make soil testing and sampling of their areas to give farmers relevant seeds and fertilisers.

Mr Ramokopane noted that farmers lacked knowledge on how to use fertilisers and should be sensitised about the application of the chemicals, adding that farmers should know advantages and disadvantages of the fertilisers they used.

He called on the district coordinators to encourage farmers to use fertilizers provided through ISPAAD since they had been tested and were found to be suitable for their areas.

Mr Ramokapane raised a concern that some farmers neglected their fields after ploughing.

He said officers should encourage them to take care of their fields to avoid loss.

He explained that government had invested huge amounts of funds to promote crop production and enhance food security.

He encouraged officers to interact with the farmers and improve communication with them saying this would help to add value to food production and improve food security in the country.

For his part, Boteti Sub-district crop production officer, Mr Efeletse Onneetse, pleaded that they should support each other as the ministry.

He requested that officers be provided with vehicles during this ploughing season in order to monitor and improve field crop production accordingly. ENDS