27 Nov 2013

Farmers who are not able to row plant will also be sponsored under the Integrated Support Programme for Arable Agricultural Development (ISPAAD).

Government had earlier this year made it compulsory for the farmers under the programme to row plant as opposed to broadcasting.

The Assistant Minister of Agriculture, Mr Oreeditse Molebatsi, told Parliament on November 27 that his ministry had rescinded its decision following requests from farmers and various stakeholders.

He also added that this was in consideration of the inconvenience that would result due to farmers’ unpreparedness for row planting and the anticipated shortening of the ploughing and planting season due to delayed rains.

"Farmers who are not able to row plant, but broadcast," he said, would be paid P400 per hectare up to five hectares as it used to be before the ISPAAD guidelines were reviewed, while those who row plant would be paid as per the new guidelines for ploughing and planting at P800 and for harrowing at P360.

“I encourage all the farmers who can afford it to make the effort to row plant so that we can realise some harvest that will sustain us even in the face of difficult situations,” he said.

Furthermore, on account of the severe drought, the assistant minister said government had decided that, with effect from November 28, livestock feeds, which had previously been subsidised at 25 per cent and 35 per cent in the rest of the country and Bobirwa and Ngamiland areas respectively, “be further reduced to a 50 per cent subsidy in the whole country.”

The subsidised feed, he said, would be sold through the Livestock Advisory Centres (LAC) and the Botswana Agricultural Marketing Board (BAMB) depots.

“I have committed to ensuring the feed becomes available in the rest of the country. I have included the BAMB on the sale of the subsidised feed to enable all farmers to access the feed at the subsidised rates to save as many livestock as we can from perishing,” he added.

Therefore, he urged farmers to take advantage of this assistance, which he said would be for a short time, because when the situation improved, the subsidy would be reverted back to the 25 and 35 per cent.

Commenting on the statement, Shoshong MP, Mr Phillip Makgalemele, asked how Mr Molebatsi arrived at the P400 that would be paid for broadcasting farmers.

He also asked why the assistant minister did not consider other private businesses to also sell the feed since he had included BAMB. In response, Mr Molebatsi said the P400 was the one they could afford as it had been budgeted for. He said BAMB was included because government was able to control their prices.

For his part, Kgalagadi North MP, Mr Philip Khwae said the main challenge for the LACs in Kang, Hukuntsi and Tsabong had been transportation of the feed. Therefore, he asked the assistant minister if there were any measures in place to bring the feed closer to the farmers in those areas.

 Mr Molebatsi said the ministry was experiencing a challenge of shortage of vehicles, adding that where possible, they would provide assistance in that regard.

Kweneng East MP, Maj. Gen. Moeng Pheto reminded the assistant minister that LACs always had challenges of inadequate stocking. However, the assistant minister said his ministry would do everything in its power to ensure that there was enough supply of feed in all the LACs as well as at BAMB. Ends