07 May 2023

Stakeholders have been urged to work together towards attainment of food security and to  attract youth to farming.

Speaking during Mosisedi harvest day event at Mosisedi farms on Saturday, Minister of Entrepreneurship, Mr Karabo Gare said it was important to come up with ways of attracting the youth to farming.

Mr Gare said the theme of the day, Unlocking Arable Farming Potential to Boost the Economy and Attract the Next Generation, was relevant as the country strived for food security.

He said his ministry was established to ensure that businesses thrived, including agriculture, noting that mindset change was pivotal to achieve that.

The government, he said, was working tirelessly to ensure citizen inclusion, adding that value chain development had to be exploited to open doors for Batswana.

“You will find that we have the resources and capacity to produce some of the products that we import,” he said.

Regarding the country’s import bill, Mr Gare said it was clear there were enough funds that could be used to create employment locally and significantly contribute to the economy.

He was also of the view that most projects were under funded, hence some of them ended up failing.

However, the area MP Mr Eric Molale said farmers should not be price takers, noting that they should sell at a price that market forces dictated.

“I urge you as farmers not to agree to low prices set by customers, rather keep your products until you get a suitable price,” he said.

Mr Molale, who is also minister of Transport and Public Works, said it was important for Botswana University of Agriculture and Natural Resources (BUAN) to re-focus on extensively training farmers.

“There is no how we are going to attract the younger generation, if we do not equip them with skills,” he said.

CEDA CEO, Mr Thabo Thamane said his organisation had invested around P114 million in Mosisedi farms. However, he said a quarter of the money had been used to de-bush the fields, noting that it was important to allocate land ready for production.

“Despite many challenges, Mosisedi farmers are doing their best to feed the nation and they have already paid back close to half the money,” he added.

He said it was important to be patient with the farmers, as they encountered countless challenges in their quest to feed the nation.

Mr Thamane said farmers had a problem of book keeping, noting that they were therefore planning to engage LEA to help in that regard.

Mosisedi Commercial Farmers Association (MCFA) Chairperson, Mr Gofaone Mapitse said looking back to where they started, there had been a steady growth in production.

He said one of their challenges was unreliable rainfalls, adding that their intention was therefore to utilise every drop of rainfall.

“The past two seasons, we experienced low yields compared to other seasons and most fields were not ploughed,” he said.  He said increased prices of farm inputs was one of the factors that also led to decreased level of production.

MCFA Chairperson explained that farmers should have access to data, as that would assist them in making informed decisions hence improved yields. He highlighted the need for farmers to improve their financial acumen in an effort to attain food security.

 

“There is need for financial training, which would improve our record keeping,” he said. 

He highlighted lack of land as an obstacle for youth to venture into farming, therefore urging those who had unutilised fields to lease to them. ENDS