02 May 2022

Hard work, determination and unwavering commitment have earned 33-year- old Aron Orebotse of Dovedale in the Mahalapye East constituency a bull from President Dr Mokgweetsi Masisi.

Being the youngest of the first beneficiaries of the new bull initiative, Orebotse could not contain his happinesss, promising to take a good care of the Simmental bull, which he said would help improve his breed and increase his stock.

President Masisi’s bull donation initiative, which kick-started on Friday at Mahalapye West, Shoshong and Mahalapye East constituencies, is aimed at increasing the cattle herd in the country, improving productivity by using pedigree bulls, improving cattle genetics and development of value chains.

The young enthusiastic farmer was inspired by his parents who were traditional subsistence farmers at Sekwaba cattlepost to develop love for farming at a tender age. After failing to proceed with formal education, Orebotse decided to join his family at Sekwaba cattlepost to help them tend the livestock .

In 2013 he applied for small stock under the LIMID programme and received 13 goats. He started venturing into cattle farming.

“I started with five cows, which I bought with proceeds from small stock,” he said.

Five years later he established his own cattlepost near to his family cattlepost in order to be able take care of his own livestock and at the same time help his elderly parents.

The bubbly Orebotse explained that being identified as the beneficiary of President Masisi’s bull initiative came as a big surprise because it never crossed his mind that there was someone out there who appreciated his hard work.

“Receiving this gift is a blessing for me and I appreciated this gift from the President,” he said.

Orebotse currently boasts of 30 cattle, 26 donkeys and over 30 goats.

For his part, President Masisi commended Mr Orebotse for his commitment and hard work, which took him this far.

He encouraged him to take care of the bull to improve the quality of his livestock and grow his wealth.

Following the overwhelming response from Batswana regarding the ram and buck initiative, President Masisi decided to expand the initiative to include bulls.

He said the bull initiative would help empower farmers, especially subsistence ones to be economically independent and improve productivity.

He said farmers should look beyond selling cattle to Botswana Meat Commission and other abattoirs, but develop more value chains from the beef industry, which would not only improve the quality of beef, but would also create employment.

For his part, Minister of Agriculture, Mr Fidelis Molao emphasised that the bull was of high quality, hence it would help improve the quality of Mr Orebotse’s livestock.

He asked veterinary officers to assist the young farmer to take care of the bull so that it adapted to the environment.

Mr Molao also presented a donation from Botswana Marketing board, which comprised livestock feed and vaccines to empower Mr Orebotse in his endeavour to engage in commercial livestock farming, encouraging him to give his cattle supplementary feed and vaccinate them against diseases.

He also encouraged farmers in general to closely monitor their projects and ensure that proper care. ENDS