08 Oct 2024

With more than 30 options contained in Thuo Letlotlo catalogue, Batswana have been challenged to cast their net wide and focus not only on livestock farming.

Residents of Chobe District in particular can try their hand at aquaculture and bee keeping which do well in perennial rivers.

Addressing a Thuo Letlotlo campaign meeting in Kasane on Monday, Ministry of Agriculture permanent secretary Ms Nancy Chengeta explained that Thuo Letlotlo programme had packages such as livestock, aquaculture, apiculture, and game farming.

Ms Chengeta observed that Chobe River being a perennial river, presented a competitive advantage for aquaculture and bee keeping as farmers could draw water from the river and build ponds while fish thrived well in wetlands and thick vegetation.

She said Thuo Letlotlo presented many opportunities for Chobe residents to revive farming since the area was declared a Foot and Mouth Disease red zone, hindering export of beef to European Union market.

Ms Chengeta said the commodity based trade gave farmers in red zones like Chobe and Ngamiland an opportunity to sell their beef in other markets within the SADC region noting that Maun abattoir slaughtered cattle for Angola on a regular base.

She informed residents that the Meat Industry Regulatory Act passed in Parliament last year aimed to empower farmers and eliminated monopoly in the beef industry.

The permanent secretary advised farmers to form associations and clusters which would help amplify their voice, present diverse skills and bolster teamwork which would prompt funding from government to invest in majority.

She indicated that the Thuo Letlotlo uptake for Chobe District was the lowest with only eight applications received from the district since inception, compared to other districts with over 1 000 applications.

Ms Chengeta encouraged residents to be proactive and inquire on government initiatives because programmes like Thuo Letlotlo could be undertaken on one’s backyard.

Residents remarked that farming in Chobe was rendered an uphill battle due to wildlife destruction in farms which called for electrification of farms.

Residents said it was imperative that the Ministry of Agriculture fostered collaborations with land board and Department of Wildlife and National parks for such programmes like Thuo Letlotlo and Temo Letlotlo because Chobe District was unique being surrounded by national park and forest reserves.

Chobe Land Board deputy secretary, Mr Omphemetse Okaile responded that the board suspended new applications for cattle posts in 2023.

However, he said there were 647 applications when the decision was taken and had decided to process them having approved 346 applications for cattle posts from that waiting list.

He acknowledged that there were many requests for ploughing fields and inheritance claims which were facing delays due to non-agreements from families and other nearby properties who believed were also entitled to inherit particular land.

Mr Okaile said Chobe District constituted of limited land for ploughing fields and cattle posts being suffocated by forest reserves and national park which rendered allocations slow.

Kasane customary court president, Kgosi Thuso Wasetso encouraged Chobe residents to explore government initiatives that aimed to diversify Chobe economy from being centred on tourism. 

He said Chobe people should not be discouraged by the wildlife population which posed a challenge for farmers by causing destructions as Thuo Letlotlo provided components that helped install effective barriers. ENDs