18 May 2020

The Minister of Agricultural Development and Food Security, Dr Edwin Dikoloti, says there is possibility of a bumper harvest for the 2019/2020 season.

Speaking in an interview on the sidelines of food hampers donation in Tsoaneng in the Southern District on May 16, he said even though the country expectsed a bumper harvest, there was still much to do in order to meet the country's demand.

Dr Dikoloti said his ministry was doing everything to enure that the country becomes self-sufficient in agricultural produce and reduce the import bill. 

He said self-sufficiency required a lot of things, among them good land management systems, rain conservation, modern farming technologies and adaptation to ever changing climatic conditions.

Dr Dikoloti, who is also a Member of Parliament for Mmathethe/Molapowabojang, said the constituency was blessed with fertile soils that the constituents could take advantage of and have productive gardens in each household.

He said government had injected a lot of money through Integrated Support Programme for Arable Agriculture Development (ISPAAD).

ISPAAD was meant to address challenges facing arable farmers and the inherent low productivity of the arable sub sector.

Dr Dikoloti also encouraged people to take advantage of agricultural food value chain and set up processing industries in production zones that would create employment.

He said subsistence, emerging and commercial farmers should contribute to food security if the country was to realise the goal of being self-sufficient.

A renowned farmer, Mr John Phirinyane based at Mosisedi farms said he was expecting a bumper harvest.

He said even though rain came late during the 2019/20 ploughing season, they were satisfactory.

Mr Phirinyane who owns 18 commercial farming blocks in Mosisedi measuring approximately 15 000 hectares said it was imperative to learn farming from others, saying their mandate as farmers of the southern block was to feed the nation so that Batswana should not rely on imports.  Ends