12 Oct 2023

Pitsane Vocational Training Centre has been urged to consider an incubation programme for graduating students.

Good Hope-Mabule Member of Parliament, Mr Eric Molale said this during  an appreciation tour of the centre on Tuesday.

The minister had visited the centre to see amongst their works, the hydroponics vegetable project.

He also got a chance to see livestock kept at the institution for use by students during practicals.

Speaking after the tour Minister Molale said he was impressed by what he had seen, saying the desired results were starting to show. He said the institution which was started in 1981 with the sole purpose of training livestock farmers was the first of its kind in Botswana.

Mr Molale told the institution’s authorities that now was the time for them to further expand by including the incubation period for those who graduate from that institution.

He said the move would ensure that they monitor and mentor the graduates so that they could be able to start their own businesses.

“The incubation programme is very important and you must also ensure that you get into contact with other relevant stakeholders such as financial institutions and Ramatlabama Artificial insemination centre to prepare graduates for the future”, he said.

He said the move would give learners a chance to appreciate challenges associated with farming or whatever course that they would have enrolled in.

Furthermore, he called on the authorities both from the district and the institution to ensure that the training centre became a centre of excellence in agriculture, noting that the centre had so far made good progress.

He went on to tell the students that in business one needed passion and patience to be successful.

The Minister told them that the results come after a while especially in agriculture hence it was very important to be passionate about what they were doing.

Welcoming the guest to the school, the head teacher Ms Gracious Motlokwa said they heeded a call by President Dr Mokgweetsi Masisi for Batswana to start producing vegetables.

She said the institution  introduced the green house technology for hydroponics project.

“This move was motivated by the vegetable import ban and we saw it fitting to train our students to be able to fill that void”.

She said that with the amount of practical work done, they were confident that the graduates would be able to face the tough world of farming. ENDS