05 Oct 2022

Residents of Chanoga and its catchment areas have resolved to engage the minister of Environment and Tourism to collectively look into human wildlife conflict, with a view to come up with a permanent solution.

The resolution followed a series of kgotla meetings addressed by Kgosi Oateng Setlhodi of Chanoga, to appreciate residents’ challenges post COVID-19 pandemic.

In an interview, Kgosi Setlhodi confirmed that some residents, especially farmers, complained that their efforts to utilise the agricultural land were frustrated by wildlife, particularly elephants, hence the resolution to engage the relevant minister.

Farmers, he said, argued that the elephant population had increased and the jumbos were now encroaching into their homesteads and fields. 

He said they believed that a meeting with the minister to discuss the issue would enable them to come up with mitigating factors, to create a balance between agriculture and tourism.

He said they were hopeful for a lasting solution that would eventually enable them to produce enough food, while co-existing with wildlife.

Kgosi Setlhodi also appreciated that a lot of women had ventured into horticultural farming in his jurisdiction.

He said although some farmers found it easy to start horticulture, it was getting difficult to reap the benefits, hence a resolution was made to organise a capacity building workshop to drill them on the basics.

Through the workshop, he said farmers would gain a clear understanding of crops that could grow in a varied climate zone, as well as acquire knowledge on how to protect crops from the environmental elements.

Kgosi Setlhodi noted that the success of horticulture depended on a number of factors such as weather, rain, soil quality and believed that through the workshop, farmers would learn a lot and eventually operate thriving projects.

“Efforts are underway to implement the resolutions and we plan to engage all relevant authorities, set a date for the meeting and the workshop,” he added.

He said during his interaction with farmers, he apprised them on the Horticulture Impact Accelerator Subsidy fund, which is meant to bolster the horticulture market for self-sufficiency.

Through the fund, Kgosi Setlhodi said, farmers could put up proper infrastructure, de-bush their farms, expand and diversify production to improve food security in the country.

He said it was a pity that some farmers had fenced their ploughing land using poles, which were easily destroyed by elephants. Ends