04 Oct 2022

Farmers in the Central District have been advised to take advantage of the extension of ISPAAD registration for 2022/23 ploughing season.

The extension started on Monday and will end October 31, following the initial registration that ended on June 30. 

In an interview on Monday, the Ministry of Agriculture public relation officer in the Central District, Mr Clifas Kemiso said farmers could contact agricultural demonstrators in their respective areas for registration.

He said subsistence farmers would be assisted with free seeds to plough four hectares, two bags of which would be hybrid and the other two, open pollinated variety seeds.

Mr Kemiso, however, said a farmer who would prefer open pollinated variety seeds would be given enough seeds to plant four hectares, although the same arrangement would not apply  to hybrid seeds.  

Mr Kemiso further stated that the amount of subsidy on draught power shall cover four hectares for subsistence farmers irrespective of whether they use tractor or animal draught power, as long as the seedbed preparation was of acceptable standard.

He advised farmers to register their production with agricultural demonstrators after harvesting to enable the department to record production level.

Mr Kemiso further informed public members that the new arable programme that would be replacing ISPAAD would be launched before the end of the year, for implementation starting 2023/24 ploughing season.

Meanwhile, farmers will use the existing ISPAAD guidelines for 2021/22 ploughing season.

He said the ISPAAD guidelines were not beneficial to the subsistence farmers only, but to emerging and commercial farmers too, though their scales of subsidy varied.  

Meanwhile, in Serowe on Sunday, Kgosi Serogola Seretse declared letsema (ploughing season) open, urging farmers to go and till the lands in order to benefit from the early rains.

The declaration means that trials and weddings have been suspended to allow farmers ample time to go work in the  fields without any disturbances. Ends