14 Jun 2021

As part of his drive to sustain higher crop productivity by farmers in the constituency, Mmathethe/Molapowabojang legislator, Dr Edwin Dikoloti has liaised with agricultural expert, Mr Stan Martin to conduct training sessions for emerging farmers.

During a conservation and sustainable agriculture practical session at Loboaphala Farm in Digawana on Saturday, Mr Martin, who is the founder and managing director of Farm with Stan, capacitated the participants with sustainable agricultural management practices that could be followed to improve productivity without jeopardising the ecosystem.

Dr Dikoloti, who also attended the session, challenged the participants to adopt a conservation and sustainable agriculture model to heighten agricultural produce in the country.

He said conservation agriculture was a sustainable approach to manage agro-ecosystems to improve productivity, increase farm profitability and food security.

Dr Dikoloti, also the Minister of Health and Wellness, said maintaining environmental sustainability while the world was facing an increasing climate change and population explosion was a challenge for every food production sector.  

He, therefore, said there was an urgent need to develop a holistic approach to farming such as conservation agriculture to sustain higher crop productivity in the country without negatively affecting soil health. 

Dr Dikoloti encouraged all to produce food for themselves at their backyard gardens and strive to reduce the hefty import bill on horticultural produce. 

He also implored the participants to take advantage of agricultural field training sessions to learn new farming technologies.

Mr Martin, who has over the years traversed the country conducting training sessions through which he transformed some of his trainees into master farmers, told BOPA in an interview that national food security was not only an issue of government, but every citizen’s responsibility.

He said in agriculture one must constantly study and research to improve yields, hence the need to adapt to new farming technologies.

Mr Martin said traditional farming methods were outdated. 

He, therefore, encouraged all to focus on modern methods to optimally benefit from their agribusinesses.

He said agriculture in Botswana was challenging, but achievable with modern technology as well as upskilling farmers with technology and methodology to achieve food security. 

One of the participants, Mr Rapelang Koboti said training workshops, mentorship and market facilitation was paramount in transforming emerging farmers to become master farmers.

He said the training also helped aspiring farmers to turn their dreams into reality as it addressed all challenges that one may encounter.

Mr Koboti said the training equipped the farmers with skills to draw business plans and save money that could have been used to hire consultants.

He believed that the training would make the constituency an agricultural hub that would attract other forms of development such as road infrastructure. ends