28 Nov 2022

A piece of land, no matter its size, can be a great asset that can change one’s fortunes.

With a 2.2 hectare farm that he bought from one Mr Jack Wright in 1968, retired citizen Mr Bernard Letsididi has for decades fed his family and has managed to  also generate income through selling of surplus crops to the Serowe community.

“Initially when I started planting these vegetables it was for household consumption, but at times I find myself selling the surplus to the community,” he said. 

Situated at Botalaote ward in Serowe, the farm is in use all year-round with Mr Letsididi producing a variety of crops in constant rotation.

In an interview recently, Mr Letsididi said when he left formal employment in his mid-40s, he ventured into farming since he saw a lucrative market in it. 

He said the relocation of Mr Wright from Serowe to Gaborone in 1968 presented him with the perfect opportunity to assume ownership of the piece of land, which he said its previous owner used as a piggery.

Mr Letsididi said that for years now, he has consistently been planting vegetables ranging from beetroots, rape, spinach, cabbage, onions and tomatoes, though he, at other times would grow other crops such as sweet reed, maize and lablab.

On his piece of land also sits a handful of fruit trees among them mango and orange, he said, and added that he could seamlessly plant the variety of crops found on his garden due to it having fertile soils in which various crops could fare well.

Currently, Mr Letsididi has one worker whose main responsibilities are tending to the crops and ensuring the overall maintenance of the garden. 

The employee, Mr Gibson Musunda said in the same interview had spent over ten years under the employ of Mr Letsididi.

The garden has over the years entrenched itself among the centerpieces of the sources of livelihood for the family.

Mr Musunda said water availability in the garden was a plus that ensured that they could consistently produce their preferred crops all-year round with little challenges. 

Since the yard is situated next to hill, the worker said their garden and fruit trees often got attacked by monkeys which would cause a major destruction to the produce.

To address the challenge, he  said, they at times put up scare crows in their garden as a way of deterring the monkeys from raiding crops. 

He also cited that their vegetable crops had their fair share of challenges as they were at times attacked by pests such as cutworms and aphids.

He said higher temperatures were another worrying factor during summer months, since there were no shade nets to shield crops from the often scorching heat. 

ENDS