17 Oct 2013

Farmers have lamented a decision by the Ministry of Agriculture not to include bulls as part of cattle that will be given as compensation to farmers during the restocking exercise.

When speaking at a kgotla meeting addressed by Tonota South MP, Mr Pono Moathodi in Gulushabe lands, farmers said some of the cattle that were culled during the outbreak of Foot and Mouth Disease (FMD) were bulls.

One of the farmers, Ms Ditsotlhe Morokwane, said they were informed that only farmers who were due to receive 25 cattle or more will be given one bull. She said the officers told them that farmers who were due to receive less cattle will only be given cattle without a bull, and advised them to group together so that government could assist them with a bull.

“This is unfair. The same procedure must be followed for everyone. A bull is not easy to acquire because it is very expensive,” she said. Another farmer, Ms Miriam Kebalebetse, said they were disappointed that the date for the restocking exercise was postponed many times.

She said the restocking was supposed to have been done in April before it was postponed to October and later December. “We had hoped that we would be able to receive our cattle before the rains started,” she said.

When responding to the farmers concerns, Dr Comfort Nkgowe of Department of Animal Health and Production explained that there were delays in stocking because of persistence of FMD in goats and animals.

He said they were forced to kill all the goats in affected areas because the disease was also spread to the offspring. However, Dr Nkgowe revealed that the department had already started restocking in the North East District and expressed confidence that restocking will have started in the Tonota area by December.

“We are also experiencing some challenges in some places where we have started restocking as some farmers complain that they are not ready to receive their cattle. Some say they have not prepared kraals while others say they don’t have herd boys,” he said.

He said other farmers were making the restocking exercise difficult as they wanted the cattle to be dropped at their individual cattle posts despite the fact that they were informed that the cattle should be collected where the eradication process took place.

Meanwhile, Mr Moatlhodi urged farmers to look after their cattle instead putting all the responsibilities on herd boys. “Being a weekend farmer adds to the problems of stray animals,” he said.

He further implored farmers to take advantage of government programs and subsidies by fencing their fields and row planting. He further encouraged farmers to register for seeds, saying that emphasis on row planting should not discourage them to register and collect seeds for the upcoming ploughing season. Ends