08 Jun 2020

Botswana needs to produce enough food to feed its 2.3 million population and reduce the hefty import bill running into millions of pula.

The outbreak of coronavirus, which continues to affect economies and lives across the globe,  has once again shown the folly of relying on imports.

With borders closed with neighbouring South Africa where a substantial amount of food comes from, it is an opportunity for locals to fill the void.

President Dr Mokgweetsi Masisi has also talked about his vision to increase agricultural production.

Once achieved, food security will not only help scale down the food import bill, but will give the nation the latitude to channel financial resources to other important socio-economic development activities.

On Friday, a Botswana Press Agency (BOPA) team paid a visit to some of Temo-Boswa Farmers Association members in Tonota East to get their views on the matter.

The association’s chairperson, Mr Nchenje Mogapi was adamant that food sufficiency could be achieved.

All that the government needs to do, he said, was to review certain policies to ensure they promoted the agricultural sector. He said instead of employing the blanket policy approach when assisting people with farming inputs, priority should to be given to productive farmers.

He said providing everyone, including people who were not farmers, with inputs such as fertilizers and seeds was akin to wastage of resources.

Such assistance, he maintained, should be given to farmers with a proven track record and the drive to feed the nation. “Majority of the people who are given seeds and fertilizers free of charge abandon their fields after ploughing. I would rather have such resources distributed amongst people who have proven to be serious with farming,” he said.

Mr Mogapi, whose association boasts of a membership of over 112 farmers, decried salty water in the area and bad roads, saying they had a negative bearing on production.

He said they took solace from President Masisi’s vigour to resuscitate farming, including his suggestion to forge partnerships with farmers in order to scale-up production.

“As an association we pledge our support to government. We pin our hopes that ISPAAD, which is currently undergoing review, will provide answers to many of our plights,” he said.

Unlike some farmers who have criticised low prizes that farmers get from BAMB, Mr Mogapi has hailed the parastatal.

In fact, Temo-Boswa has forged a partnership with BAMB and members are expected to sell their produce to the parastatal.

Mr Mogapi said BAMB prizes were not as bad as some people would like to believe. He said although BAMB prices were not the best in the market, it had the capacity to purchase all the farmers produce. His sentiments were shared by 74-year-old Mr Andrew Abotseng, who is the vice chairperson of Temo-Boswa Farmers Association.

Mr Abotseng noted that farming was labour intensive and required committed people. He said lack of commitment by farmers was the reason behind the failure to reap rewards at the end of the ploughing season.

“People need to focus on farming if they want to produce enough food to feed the nation. Farming requires total attention at all times, or you are not going to reap anything,” he warned.

Mr Abotseng also said due to the capital intensive nature of farming, government should increase the hectares it ploughed for free for subsistence farmers. He added that it would ensure food security for the country. Ends