23 Jan 2020

There is a lot of agriculture potential in the Mmathethe/Molapowabojang constituency due to the rich land found in the area.

The area MP, who is also the Minister of Agricultural Development and Food Security, Dr Edwin Dikoloti urged Gasita residents in a kgotla meeting to prioritise agriculture to feed their families as well as a business.

Dr Dikoloti noted that they could also create employment through dedication and commitment to the agricultural sector. In addition, he encouraged residents to strive to produce more from the resources availed to them.

“Research shows that by the year 2050, the population would have increased tremendously, yet we know the land remains the same. I therefore urge you to use the little land that you have to produce more,” he said.

Furthermore, he implored them to use modern technology to start business ventures using  indigenous fruits and vegetables such as Morama and Thepe.

He advised them to engage the National Food Technology Research Centre (NFTRC) to find ways to process and preserve such indigenous products for sale and even export to other countries.

Dr Dikoloti also called on residents to position themselves so that they could benefit from supply schools with fresh meat.

“As the government intends to provide meat in schools, this is a challenge to you to position yourselves to benefit from this programme.

This is an opportunity to take advantage of the jobs created by the value chain thereby improving the economy of the communities,” he said.

On employment creation, he urged Gasita residents to nurture talent and contribute to the creative industry, adding that his constituents have a lot of talents and skills which they could use to sustain themselves.

On other issues, Dr Dikoloti appealed to education stakeholders to unite towards improving results in schools, noting that they intended to use part of the constituency funds to engage private tutors for pupils.

This, he noted, would not only improve results but would also create employment for graduates.

“Improving education from grassroots is a huge investment not only for individual villages but for the whole country,” he said.

For their part, residents raised a concern that their efforts were being thwarted by cattle owners who had left their cattle to graze from ploughing fields.

They said this caused conflicts which ended up before the customary court.

Gasita Farmers Committee chairperson, Mr Ramohibidu Taunyana urged cattle farmers to take care of their cattle and restrict them from entering ploughing fields to avoid conflicts.

He also urged young people to venture into agriculture since some parents were no longer capable of working the fields. ENDS