04 Apr 2023

Botswana University of Agriculture and Natural Resources (BUAN) and Tonota College of Education have partnered to put the college’s milk parlour and the farm into use.

Minister of Education and Skills Development, Dr Douglas Letsholathebe said this in Parliament on Monday.

Dr Letsholathebe said the team of experts that BUAN had sent to the college last year to inspect the parlour had made a number of recommendations which included the need to establish a reliable water source and to use part of the farm to produce cattle feed.

The team, he said, further recommended installation of a cooling tank for the processed milk as well as the building of cow sheds for the proper management for the dairy cows.

Dr Letsholathebe said the rehabilitation of the parlour and the farm would be budgeted for in the current financial year, the same period during which scoping and designs for the works would also be carried out.

The minister  confirmed  that one of Tonota College of Education’s assets, a milk parlour and its subsidiaries, had never worked since construction in 1993.

“The milk parlour was constructed to provide training of Agriculture teachers at the college. It was also envisaged that the farm in which the milk parlour is situated would be used as a demonstration area for new farming technologies, facilitate agricultural research and in the long run, cater for the training needs of both the college and the village community,” he said.

He added that the capacity for the parlour was in excess of 200 dairy cows which was far beyond the 14 that the college had at the time.

“As a result, the parlour could not be commissioned and remained unused,” he explained. 

Tonota MP, Mr Pono Moatlhodi has asked the minister of confirm if the college’s milk parlour had never worked since the college was opened and if so, why the parlour was left to dilapidate.

Mr Moatlhodi had wanted to know if there were plans to ensure that the parlour was restored to its original purpose of availing milk to the college community and the people of Tonota constituency.

He had further asked the minister to also state what timelines were in place for the parlour’s restoration if it was planned for. ends