11 Dec 2022

Molemo wa Popagano cluster farmers have been commended for moving from subsistence farming to commercial farming.

 Zimbabwe Ambassador to Botswana, Mr Batiraishe Mukonoweshuro who officially opened the 5444.4 hectare cluster at Sefhophe on Saturday applauded the farmers for their immense sacrifice in venturing into commercial farming.

He acknowledged and commended the government through the Ministry of Agriculture for initiating and implementing the cluster programme concept under the Integrated Support Programme for Arable Agriculture Development (ISPAAD).

Ambassador Mukonoweshuro said ISPAAD was a vital component in attaining food security in the country, creating more opportunities and uplifting the rural livelihoods.

In view of the centrality of agriculture as a key sector in stimulating the modernisation and industrialisation of the economy, he said the government  was now focusing on unlocking value from the land and ensuring maximum productivity.

“The provision of security of tenure, access to capital for farmers from both state institutions and the private sector and availing conditions that enable the agricultural sector to contribute to value addition is commendable,” he said.

Furthermore Mr Mukonoweshuro said the cluster was ready to face all the threat to agriculture posed by climate change, encouraging the farmers to undertake adaptive responses that would enhance sustainability of agriculture and continue to make it a worthwhile industry.

He also encouraged Molemo wa Popagano cluster farmers to work hard to improve their farming methods and intensify production so that they could improve food security for the country and further improve their livelihoods. He also promising farmers that his country Zimbabwe stood ready to work with them whenever need arose.

Further, he urged the cluster farmers and Selebi Phikwe Extension team to position themselves in order to reap from the benefits that came along with the new programme as they were strategically located and privileged to be in the SPEDU region, which acted as a bridge between the farmers and potential investors.

Promoting commercial farming by Molemo wa Popagano Cluster in collaboration with investors would be a sustainable way of uplifting the livelihoods of Sefhophe community and surrounding areas, he said

For his part, the Assistant Minister of Agriculture Mr Molebatsi Molebatsi also commended Molemo wa Popagano for working tirelessly to ensure that their dream was fulfilled despite the challenges.

He said Molemo wa Popagano cluster was one of the few committed clusters across the country, saying they should continue working hard to improve food production in the country.

He said government aim through the Ministry of Agriculture was to eradicate hunger and poverty through food production and assured them of his ministry’s support, encouraging them to also register with cooperatives.

Kgosi Diloro Segwabe of Sefhophe encouraged farmers to take farming seriously and ensure that the 5444.1 hectare farm was fully utilised.

He commended government for assisting the farmers to form a cluster and fencing the entire farm for them, urging farmers to take advantage and venture into commercial farming.  ENDS