12 Apr 2022

A comprehensive review of the agriculture sector policies and legislation remains key in improving the state of food security, land and water management in Botswana.

The Committee on Agriculture, Lands and Housing chairperson, Mr Mephato Reatile said this when presenting a report on findings from public hearings on the country’s state of food security, hand and water management, 2020 and 2021 on April 11.

Mr Reatile indicated that the findings revealed that most of the policies and legislation were outdated hence an urgent need for a new Agriculture Policy to transform the country’s agriculture sector.

He said his committee found that most of the laws in place were old and surpassed by the new emerging challenges.

“The agriculture policy was developed over 40 years ago as such there is need for a new framework to raise the agriculture sector.

Mr Reatile also emphasised the need for a new legislation on use of Genetically Modified Organisms (GMOs) in production including in consumer products to address the prevalence of GMOs currently in the market.

In that regard, he said a Bio-Security legislation to domesticate the Cartagena Protocol was overdue thus the committee recommended that the Ministry of Agricultural Development and Food Security fast-tracked the important piece of legislation to protect consumers.

Furthermore, the report recommended that the Integrated Support Programme for Arable Agriculture Development (ISPAAD) which was still under review, should include an output based approach where some of the funding was channelled towards increasing prices for producers as a way to incentivise production through Botswana Agricultural Marketing Board.

Also among the recommendations is a National Nutrition Strategy to complement production and food security programmes under Ministry of Agricultural Development and Food Security.

“This would contribute to the fortification of food production strategies and see the country giving priority to high nutrient food production,” Mr Reatile said.

He further highlighted the need to strengthen and invest in agricultural research in order to support production, adding that such research would assist in driving and developing knowledge around agriculture investment, nutrition as well as addressing malnutrition, agro-processing development, commodity-based trading and in increasing agricultural productivity in the country.

On livestock production, Mr Reatile said the committee recommended that the Botswana Meat Commission (BMC)’s monopoly be lifted immediately to allow for producers to be permitted to export live cattle.

“We further recommend that the BMC transformation be fast-tracked to mitigate any further losses by producers, and such should include addressing its structural, operational and governance inefficiencies which have contributed to its downfall,” he said.

On lands and housing, Mr Reatile said there was need for the Ministry of Land Management Water and Sanitation Services to develop and implement a national roadmap with clear timelines and measurable outputs and outcomes to address the current land allocation crisis besieging the country.

He also emphasised the need to provide Batswana with land and as well as supporting policies and laws to facilitate business participation and other ventures.

“Batswana would never attain meaningful economic emancipation and participation if they cannot access land and derive value from that land,” he said.

In that regard, he said a clear strategy with timelines and outputs be implemented for repossession of unutilised freehold land around the country in order for Batswana to access such land for developments.

“The ministry must look into imposing heavy taxation on the land which is mostly owned by absentee landlords and development covenants must also be enforced and appropriate remedial action taken for non-compliance on all land in the country,” he added.

Furthermore, he said immediate review of Town and Country Planning Act with a view to realigning the planning mandate and responsibilities with Ministry of Local Government and Rural Development as the implementing authority at local level instead of with MLMWS.

“The Department of Town and Country Planning currently under MLMWS should be moved to MLGRD to achieve efficiency and assume a coordinating role at ministry level,” he said.

In addition, he said the findings revealed the need to establish a National Planning Commission responsible for high level regulation and coordination of national strategic planning to avoid conflicting sectoral plans which usually resulted in unintended high costs to the economy and the environment.

A further recommendation was made for the MLMWS to develop and gazette legal instruments that articulated planning permission procedures as provided for in the Town and Country Planning Act, 2013, to help standardise planning permission procedures in local authorities, improve transparency as well as facilitate ease of doing business.

Contributing to the debate on the report and recommendations, Vice President, Mr Slumber Tsogwane argued that review of policies and programmes should be informed by research and development.

He also emphasised the need to take Rural Development Policy seriously as a tool that could help change the lives of the people in rural areas for the better.

Mr Tsogwane also called for a common market for horticulture farmers to promote attractive prices for agriculture produce and protect local farmers from being taken advantage of by customers particularly, big businesses.

MP for Francistown South, Mr Wynter Mmolotsi shared Mr Tsogwane’s sentiments, adding that research and development should help address challenges faced by local farmers hence the need to have the most suitable high yielding varieties that suited the country’s climatic conditions and control pests in order to attain food security.

“These things are possible if we invest money in research and development,” he said.

He further said that the committee was better placed to lobby government and work together with the agriculture ministry to make reforms that could help resuscitate the agriculture sector.

Furthermore, he emphasised the need for infrastructure such as access roads, water and electricity at the farms to help process agriculture produce so that all value chains were explored hence creating employment and addressing issues of rural-urban migration.

He said government should also be lobbied to undertake minimal land servicing to help allocate land to Batswana.

MP for Bobonong, Mr Taolo Lucas also thumbed up the report, saying more needed to be done for the agriculture sector to realise its full potential.

He called for the review of some programmes particularly those that required farmers to pay 50 per cent, saying such only benefited those who had financial means.

He added that agriculture went hand in hand with availability of land as such government should fast track plot allocations and address issues of long waiting lists.

Meanwhile, MPs approved the report and called for implementation of committee recommendations. ENDS