04 Aug 2024

Member of Parliament for Kanye North, Mr Thapelo Letsholo says more can still be done to enhance integrated farming on agricultural land.

Mr Letsholo said this when closing debate on a motion he had table before Parliament, through which he requested government to adopt a more flexible land use for agricultural land by permitting the establishment of diverse business ventures on agricultural land such as masimo, meraka, ranches and integrated farms.

That, he said should be done without necessitating a formal change of land use while additional ventures should include among others, restaurants, filling stations, guest cottages, camping sites and recreational facilities.

Appreciating legislators for support, Mr Letsholo said although government allowed partial use of agricultural land for other activities since 2019, the guidelines were that those additional activities should be related to agriculture.

“I appreciate the move by government, but my motion seeks to add other ventures that are not related to agriculture, such as craft shops, filing stations guest cottages and camping sites among others,” he said.

He said by enabling additional and diverse activities, Batswana would derive more value from their land as they would now be able to explore a wide range of business ventures.

He added such a move would be a good vision by government especially that some ploughing fields and cattle posts were located near good roads, which he said farmers could take advantage of.

He also indicated that the Minister of Lands and Water Affairs, Dr Kefentse Mzwinila had, in supporting the motion, indicated that it would be handy for his ministry as it would help reduce waiting lists across land boards.

“He indicated in his contributions that at the moment, the waiting list was long partly due to the fact that people have to apply for land for various business ventures, and that allowing a wide array of businesses to operate from one piece of land without applying for a change of land use will help reduce their workload,” he said.

Mr Letsholo also appreciated Dr Mzwinila for his noble promise that should Parliament pass the motion, he would ensure that it was implemented as a matter of urgency.

Earlier, the Vice President Slumber Tsogwane had indicated that what the MP was requesting was already being done as government now allowed integrated farming on agricultural land.

“What the motion is calling for is already being practically done, and it is actually what government encourages. Allowing integrated farming was to allow farmers to explore the value chain of their products,” Mr Tsogwane said.

The motion was agreed to by majority votes. ENDS