21 Feb 2021

In an effort to empower small-scale farmers in Tati West and elsewhere in the country, the Ministry of Agricultural Development and Food Security facilitates the formation of clusters in any of the sub-sectors. Minister of Agricultural Development and Food Security, Mr Karabo Gare has told Parliament that clusters exposed farmers to an opportunity to be assisted as a collective.

“Clusters also enable farmers to access the market easily compared to an individual,” he said. He said another empowerment level in the case of Tati West was that poultry farmers supplied chicken meat and eggs to government schools. He noted that North East farmers had registered a cluster called Bajammogo Poultry Association to position themselves to benefit from the initiative.

He further said his ministry was aware that North East was home for Tswana chicken as in other parts of the country. “This is because Tswana chicken is affordable source of food,” he said.

Mr Gare said strategies in place to create value for Tswana chicken breeders included construction of poultry mobile abattoirs across districts for value-addition in poultry meat products at which Tswana chicken farmers would also slaughter their stock starting from the 2021/2022 financial year.

He informed Parliament that his ministry was also promoting production of Tswana chicken through LIMID and poverty eradication programmes. Tswana chicken farmers, he noted, were suppliers to LIMID and poverty eradication programmes beneficiaries.

He added that it created employment and wealth for farmers keeping Tswana chickens.

Member of Parliament for Tati West, Mr Simon Moabi had asked the minister to state the strategy in place to empower small scale farmers in Tati West. Mr Moabi also asked the minister if he was aware that North East was the home of Tswana chickens; and if so, what strategy was put in place to create value for Tswana chicken breeders for wealth and employment creation. ENDS