11 Jun 2025

Farmers in Boteti have been advised to conduct research in order to better understand and meet market demand.

Farmers’ failure to identify their market could lead to production that did not align with market demand. Boteti District Council economic planner, Mr Setshego Nyambe said when briefing Boteti District Development Committee on June 9. He said research was essential to guide farmers and keep them informed about market demand and customer preferences.

Mr Nyambe said there was lack of knowledge on the right time of planting to target the market hence a proper research could solve this challenge. He said farmers did not like competition and tended to surrender when their competitor’s produce was preferred over theirs. Mr Nyambe also said farmers had expressed concern that limited access to land was undermining government’s efforts to strengthen food security.

He said  farmers supported through government agricultural programmes also complained about high land rentals costs, which they said hindered their ability to develop leased land and in turn, limited their production capacity. He said some farmers abandoned farming and opted to work for other programmes such as Ipelegeng in need of fast cash leaving projects unattended.

Mr Nyambe also said it was critical to visit farmers often to monitor projects and give technical advice where necessary and that had proved to be difficult due to lack of transport. Furthermore he stated that most of the farm managers were unskilled. Mr Nyambe indicated that it was difficult to retain staff  especially after being trained.

Farmers, he said, used wrong settings and calibration of implements and as a result it led to wrong plant population which drastically affected yield and production. Mr Nyambe also said generally, irrigation water in Boteti was saline and not suitable for crop cultivation.

“It also affected the status of the soil, as well as crop yields and production.”

He recommended that two teams should be assigned to conduct a pilot research on issues affecting performance of agricultural projects. Mr Nyame said the information was crucial as it would indicate the number of farmers affected by land rentals and reasons for failing to utilise government programmes. ENDS