21 Apr 2024

Ngamiland livestock industry has among others had to contend with the 1995 contagious bovine pleuro-pneumonia (CBPP), commonly known as Bolwetsi jwa Lekgwafo and the recurrent outbreaks of the Foot and Mouth Disease (FMD) which has branded the area a red zone.

Some of these diseases are by nature able to spread so explosively that they have the potential to devastate the country’s livestock industry. The district was declared an infested area due to CBPP in 1996 in which the entire cattle population in the region was culled to eradicate the disease. The region has since then not been able to access lucrative European markets.

Following the cull, government offered a range of compensation options to affected farmers and restocking started in 1997. Nonetheless some farmers opted for money while some called for restocking.

However, a retired public servant, Mr Etsogile Medupe of Gumare was amongst those who opted for money against restocking because he was of the view that agriculture was a cornerstone of Botswana because it held the potential to ensure food security and boost economic growth. He therefore needed to restrategise.

He is a great testament of how farming in communal areas could yield good results if one is dedicated, a demonstration that with good animal husbandry, it was possible to have profitable framing on a smaller piece of land.

 “I grew up in a family where agriculture is a way of survival as my parents were reputable farmers who thrived and lived a dignified life because of cattle farming and crop cultivation. My parents taught me that agriculture has been deeply rooted in the country’s history, intricately woven into the daily lives of the communities and since then I loved farming until today,” he revealed in an interview.

Mr Medupe’s interest in farming developed in1978 with his father gifting him some cattle as a start-up. The gift cattle were however killed during the eradication of the CBPP disease, which he said left many impoverished while some lost passion of farming.

He recalled that he was amongst a few who opted for money and bought 15 cattle for restocking and since he was still a public servant, he continued to buy more of the animals with his salary and his herd increase gradually, which taught him resilience and appreciation of what hard work could do.

Since then, Mr Medupe never looked back and today, he has built his reputation as a breeder of note, who started cattle farming with next to nothing on a small piece of land with a small house and a borehole at Phaleng cattle post in the outskirts of Gumare.

Today, he prides himself with more than 200 cattle comprising quality bull breeds, the likes of Limousin, Simbrah and Simmental. Yet the journey towards successful farming, he said remained full of challenges, demanding inventive solutions.

He said the district suffered another serious blow from a series of livestock disease outbreaks such as Foot and Mouth (FMD) since 2007, driving people who have long been productive and hardworking into poverty.

The communities, he said, were unable to make ends meet because there was no sale of cattle to markets outside the region while on the other hand FMD increasingly became a major problem. He however appreciated that the government did all in its power to control the disease and normal trade was reinstated.

 “The ban on cattle sale did not demoralise me because I keep better breeds and took advantage of the artificial insemination (AI) services offered at the Nokaneng Quarantine to increase my herd,” said Mr Medupe.

Furthermore, he acknowledges that the quality of his cattle steadily improved so much so that he has started donating some to other farmers and relatives in the neighbourhood with a view to motivate them to utilise the AI services to enhance their production.

He also sells some bulls and plans to organise fellow farmers to take few of their cattle to AI centre and consider pooling their funds to construct a decent breeding kraal to promote ownership of quality bulls in their extension area in order to eventually sell quality breeds.

He has a strong belief that they can empower one another to reach new heights of success and fulfillment, adding that with crossbreed cattle possibilities were endless.

Crossbreeding, he said, was an efficient way of building a herd and appealed to fellow livestock farmers in the entire region to embrace artificial insemination. The practice, he said, was cost-saving and efficient in getting higher yields of milk and beef from improved breeds and also prevents the spread of certain diseases and sterility due to genital diseases.

He appreciated that government had revived the Nokaneng quarantine to reduce the long distance of accessing services at Ramatlabama AI Centre and encouraged farmers to come forth and enjoy the services in their hood as well as own better bulls if they wanted go commercial.

AI services, he said, aimed to promote the use of new technologies in livestock breeding.

“Farmers have the choice of getting high grade cattle at a little cost with high returns on economic value. Let us utilise the AI centres and get semen of our preferred breeds at a cheaper price and maintain livelihoods,” he added.  ENDS