11 Jul 2023

Farmers should desist from working in silos but form clusters so that they could benefit from government schemes.

Handing over the electrification of the 700 hectare farms belonging to the SAMA Cluster in Masunga recently, Assistant Minister of Agriculture Mr Molebatsi Molebatsi, said farmers should work together towards the attainment of food security.

Mr Molebatsi advised farmers to emulate the Mmadinare farmers who engaged an investor who wanted land for farming, and after intensive negotiations, the investor started planting high quality oranges currently being exported to other countries.

He said the investor was paying rent to the farmers and had also promised to create employment for about 1 500 youth next year.

“The farmers also have share in that business,” he said adding that as part of the Value Chain Development, they were given the opportunity to produce orange juice from some of the oranges.

He advised them to receive any investor with open hands who might approach them seeking land as that could ended up benefiting them through development undertaken in that land.

Mr Molebatsi told farmers that there were companies ready to buy and sell their farm products outside the border hence the need for them to plough food in large quantities to meet the market needs.

He also advised the farmers to consider ploughing lentil (letlhodi), noting that it sells at about P8 000 per ton.

Giving an overview of the cluster, SAMA Cluster chairperson Mr Pius Mokgwathi said the cluster aimed at transforming the lives of people through farming.

He said the cluster farms have a title deed and that would act as security when seeking financial assistance going forward.

Mr Mokgwathi said their idea was to turn SAMA cluster into a big farming area like the Pandamatenga farms, adding that discussions were also underway to build offices or Agro Industries that have a sorghum milling plant with SAMA brand.

“One of the challenges faced by the cluster was lack of maintenance of the fence and should there be a fire outbreak, the fence will be destroyed,” he said. Other challenges, he said, was theft. Sometime elephants visit their farms. ISPAAD advisor, Mr Kwenantle Gaseitsewe said the cluster could create employment as well as serve as a one stop service centre for agriculture.

He also reiterated that they could source an investor from whom they could benchmark from and acquire skills for future use.

Member of Parliament for Tati West, Mr Simon Moabi advised all departments destined to service North East District to relocate to Masunga and stop operating through remote control.

He said it was costly for residents to commute to Francistown for services while officers had been assigned to service the district. Ends