24 Nov 2022

The current climate of good rains should enable farmers to produce better yield.

“This can only be possible if farmers are supported in that regard,” Serowe South Member of Parliament Mr Leepetswe Lesedi has said.

In his debate on the State of the Nation Address on Wednesday, Mr Lesedi said even in the current period where there had been significant rainfall countrywide, farmers lacked the necessary implements that would empower them to be productive.

He said had it been implemented on time, the long-proposed improved Integrated Support Programme for Arable Agriculture Development would by now be gaining momentum in enhancing promotion of investment in crop production.

On issues concerning his constituency, Mr Lesedi called for the agricultural service centre in Serowe South to become operational.

He said former Minister of Agriculture, Mr Christiaan De Graaf had once performed a groundbreaking ceremony for the construction of the service centre at Mogatsapoo, but years later the actual facility had not been provided.

He said the proposed agricultural hub at Radihemelo ward was yet to materialise since investments in it were still behind.

Mr Lesedi added that the Serowe Milk Collection Centre plant initially constructed a decade ago, and production area roads constructed later through the Economic Stimulus Programme should be reinvested in to become operational.

He said the milk plant had become a white elephant while the roads linking milk producers to the market were in a poor state.

On water provision, Mr Lesedi said while the North-South Water Carrier had been hailed for transporting water from one end of the country to the other, the pipeline passed next to villages such as Radisele, Mogome and Mokgware in his constituency, where there is a dire lack of water.

He said instead of bypassing these villages, government should invest in ensuring that water reached them.

Mr Lesedi said the state of internal roads in Serowe was in a poor state and needed to be upgraded.

He also decried dilapidated infrastructure at schools in his constituency, a situation he said was not conducive for teaching and learning.

Mr Lesedi also said the school feeding programme was not significantly resourced, leading to underprivileged children in places such as Sehunou and Ramakolo not attending school consistently.

He further said Serowe residents were compelled to renew passports in Palapye as the service was currently unavailable at the Department of Immigration office, a situation he said should be addressed promptly. ENDS