13 Nov 2022

Professor Ketlhatlhogile Mosepele has been installed as Botswana University of Agriculture and Natural Resources (BUAN) vice chancellor.

 “I  have the honour and privilege to hereby install you; Professor Mosepele as the vice chancellor  of BUAN  and  further implore  you  to declare that  you  shall take this office and faithfully discharge your duties and responsibilities in accordance with the  provision of BUAN Act and status,” said Vice President and the university’s chancellor Mr Slumber Tsogwane.

He was speaking during the installation Saturday which was combined with this year’s graduation ceremony.

In his acceptance speech, Professor Mosepele pledged to ensure that BUAN lived up to its mandate of producing innovative graduates and technological solutions for sustainable development in agriculture and natural resources sectors.

“BUAN is prepared to lead in the commercialisation of the agricultural sector in order for farmers to produce enough food both for self-sustenance and exportation,” he said.

Prof Mosepele said the institution had the mammoth task of producing market-ready graduates for leading in the agricultural commercialisation drive and employing other Batswana in modern and high technology farms and factories.

“We are alive to the fact that the development of high quality food production system and transforming the country’s economy are key government priority areas hence BUAN is keen to be key enablers of the economic transformation drive,” he said.

The vice chancellor said because BUAN wanted to be agents of economic change, it had committed to being a partner and implementing agency of government policies such as Reset Agenda, Vision 2036 and agrotourism.

Its research and innovation units, he said, were pivotal to the attainment of a knowledge-based economy and the fourth industrial revolution that Botswana was currently pursuing.

“The university council has recently adopted a strategy which aims to develop BUAN into a research intensive university and the strategy is premised on the fact that BUAN is at the fulcrum of food production,” he said.

Prof Mosepele said the university  would strive to bring food production into the national dialogue as a way of assisting government to transform Botswana into a food basket.

It would also positively contribute to the development of the food production value chain and unleash its potential, he said.

Meanwhile, Minister of Education and Skills Development Dr Douglas Letsholathebe has urged the 200 graduates to familiarise themselves with and utilise government programmes aimed at ensuring commercial viability.

He said the theme for this year’s graduation, Producing innovative graduates and technological solutions in agriculture and natural resources for sustainable development, resonated with the Reset Agenda.

Saying it was a source of great concern that the agricultural sector contributed only about two per cent to Botswana’s GDP, the minister pleaded with the graduates to use digitilisation to find easier ways of doing business.

“To the graduands, I have no doubt that the knowledge you gained from BUAN has transformed you into innovative graduates needed by our country to produce technological solutions to help transform Botswana from a middle-high to a high income country,” Dr Letsholathebe said.BOPA