12 Jan 2022

Botswana Agricultural Marketing Board (BAMB) plans to sell all farming implements and necessities by 2024.

Speaking during kgotla meetings addressed by Member of Parliament (MP) for Mmathethe-Molapowabojang, Dr Edwin Dikoloti in Digawana and Lorwana respectively on Tuesday,

BAMB acting Chief Executive Officer, Dr Benjamin Ditsile said they wanted all agricultural necessities to be found at his organisation by 2024.

Dr Ditsile said the journey to self-sufficiency started in 2019 with the endeavour to improve food security and to reduce reliance on imports.

“BAMB, through the Bushvet programme, assists farmers to increase the number and quality of their livestock.

We visit cattle posts to provide services such as artificial insemination after farmers had requested our assistance,” he said.

Dr Ditsile also noted that fertilizer prices had gone up, and explained that they  were in talks with  fertilizers producers in South Africa to set up branches in Botswana. He said the initiative would help reduce prices.

He also urged constituents to plough maize and sorghum as BAMB needed to increase the national grain output.

He also encouraged farmers to be contracted with BAMB as prices were better than those with no contracts. He noted that they bought a 50 kg bag of sorghum for P147 and maize for P145 for contracted farmers while for non-contracted farmers they bought at the market price which fluctuated.  

Speaking at the same meeting, Kgosi Kefitlhile Kgwakgwe of Digawana encouraged residents to take care of all the donations that were made through the MP’s office to the village, noting that they were critical to agricultural development.

He also encouraged his subjects to use social media for building purposes and not for destroying each other.

On other issues, he said his area of jurisdiction was infested with crime and called for a neighbourhood watch system to deter criminals as police visibility was low due to them being thin on the ground.

He urged his subjects to live harmoniously with each another and to forgive each other where necessary. Ends