31 Jul 2022

Agricultural digitalisation should be every farmer’s reset agenda as it could be a game changer in food production, says President Dr Mokgweetsi Masisi.

Dr Masisi, who was speaking during the official opening of Ghanzi Agricultural Show Friday, said various digital technologies and applications existed for farming and breeding in smart and efficient ways.

 Digitalisation yielded high returns on agricultural investment and was therefore the only way to go for the country to be more productive and self-sufficient, he said.

Introducing Planet Labs co-founder and chief executive officer Dr Will Marshall, the President said one could monitor a field remotely through using the company’s technology.

 Planet Labs, a US company,  trades in satellite imagery data.

“You need to embrace these technologies to improve efficiency,” said Dr Masisi.

He stressed the urgency of  mindset change especially the viewing of farming as a hobby or retirement project.

The President said  agriculture should be considered a business undertaking with emphasis placed on increasing production and output while graduating as many subsistence farmers as possible into commercial enterprises. 

He said integration of monitoring and evaluation should be part and parcel of the process.

Dr Masisi  commended  Ghanzi District farmers for tackling challenges presented by COVID-19, saying their performance and commitment was a good lesson for the rest of the country.

He said last financial year, it was estimated that the district had an off-take of 66 184 cattle compared to 50 673 in 2020/21.

Still in 2021/22, the district had an off-take of 237 for sheep and 560 goats while 5.18 tonnes of mutton and 17.16 tonnes of chevron were produced, the President said. 

He said the district currently had 19 commercial horticultural projects adding that it was becoming a potato and onion production hub capable of countrywide supply.

President Masisi said viewing the district as suitable for arable farming was a sign of mindset change.

He urged farmers to intensify diversification to other agricultural sub-sectors such as piggery, small stock, dairy and poultry in order to improve the food value chain.

Concerning live cattle export, Dr Masisi said cumulatively from October 2020 to May this year, 69 932 cattle were exported from the district. 

Of the number, 65 842 cattle were exported to South Africa and 4 090 to Namibia, he said.

He therefore urged farmers to increase production in order to take advantage of the lucrative markets and any others that might become available.

The President said agriculture remained a key government priority as signified by many programmes and initiatives rolled out over the years to help promote and aid farming.

He cited the introduction of the Integrated Support Programme for Arable Agriculture Development (ISPAAD) in an endeavour to facilitate increased agricultural production and ensure food security in Botswana.

He said the programme was currently being restructured and improved to ensure better results.

Turning to the agricultural show, he said it was important not only for providing farmers with the opportunity to showcase their products and share ideas but also inspired others to consider engaging in farming.

Dr Masisi said if more people pursued farming, they would assist government to fulfil its employment creation and poverty eradication mandate.

For his part, Minister of Agriculture, Mr Fidelis Molao said review of ISPAAD aimed to increase production and efficiency and ultimately reduction of the current P7 billion annual import bill.

He said the vegetable importation restriction was meant to encourage local production of certain items.

The minister cautioned those smuggling  the specified commodities that if caught, they would face the full wrath of the law.

In his vote of thanks, Ghanzi North MP, Mr John Thiite said there was need to invest in modern farming techniques to eliminate inefficiency and improve production.

 For agriculture to thrive, it should be driven by skilled people, he said.

Meanwhile, Ghanzi show trust chairperson, Ms Gracious Soke had earlier said the use of technology could ramp up food production. 

She called for re-purposing of land in Ghanzi to accommodate arable farming. ENDS