09 May 2022

Mosisedi Commercial Farms can, with the necessary support, achieve high yields. 

Speaking during Mosisedi harvest day on Saturday, Good Hope/Mabule MP, Mr Eric Molale advocated for development of Mosisedi Commercial Farms, which he said needed grain storage facilities/silos, boreholes, electricity and good road networks to ease production.

He said his wish was for the agriculture sector to boom so as to feed the nation and export to countries.

Mr Molale said bad roads attracted unnecessary costs of production given the high value of agricultural machinery and implements used by commercial farmers in the area. 

He said during rainy seasons it was difficult to traverse the area owing to bad internal roads thus posing a challenge to effectively and efficiently carry-out agricultural activities. 

He said the farms were holding more than P100 million, worth of computerised equipment which could not be used where there were bad roads or during rainy seasons. 

He said it was expensive for arable farmers to import services of experts from South Africa who were well versed in servicing agricultural machinery.

He therefore suggested that engineering students be engaged to impart skills. 

Mr Molale said it would be easier for scientific research officers as well as crop and soil scientists to stay in Mosisedi farming block if the area was provided with the requisite infrastructure.

He argued the initiative would fully commercialise the agricultural land, contribute significantly towards economic diversification, enhance food security and open up undeveloped land while reducing poverty and rural-urban migration.

Speaking at the same occasion, Mosisedi Commercial Farmers Association chairperson Mr Kagiso Monkge said government saw farmers as valuable assets as they contributed significantly to employment creation and other spheres of the economy.

He said his association strived for high yields even with limited resources hence the need to maximise land utilization to produce food for Batswana. 

Mr Monkge said the association was optimistic that the revised new Citizen Entrepreneurial Development Agency (CEDA) guidelines would help alleviate  some challenges faced by arable farmers.

He decried marauding baboons and kudus that destroyed crops, saying there should be a long lasting solution to human-wildlife conflict as it was an impediment to attaining food security.

He said the arable industry faced threats of climate change and thus called for farmers to employ new farming practices to minimise harm or threats. 

Mosisedi commercial farming block comprises a team of 19 commercial farmers who cultivate 10 000 hectares of land.

The commercial farmers, therefore, used Mosisedi harvest day 2022 edition as a platform to impart skills to ordinary Batswana to increase their participation in realising the dream of attaining food security in the country.

The harvest day brought together various stakeholders and experts to engage on issues and propose solutions that would propel the agricultural sector to greater heights. ends