19 Jun 2025

Okavango Horticulture Farmers Association (OKHOFA) and Chobe East Marketing Management Association (CEMAMA) have received farm implements worth over P300 000

The donation which included four walking tractors with disc ploughs, planters, tool boxes and rotavapor was made possible by the Turkish Cooperation and Coordinating Agency (TIKA) in collaboration with Botswana University of Agriculture and Natural Resources (BUAN) .

Speaking in an interview following the handover of the farm equipment on Tuesday in Shakawe, OKHOFA chairperson Mr Benny Morundu said the two walking tractors with their implements would help, mainly small scale farmers.

He said the donation was an answer to their plea of limited equipment since OKHOFA members relied on labour intensive farming.

“The farm implements would help to ease land tillage and ploughing hence help increase our produce to reach more markets,” Mr Morundu said.

He said BUAN on the other hand equipped farmers with knowledge on the use of ploughing implements and other valuable farming knowledge through a four-day training this month.

Mr Morundu said the training, which mainly focused more on smart farming and climate, would help OKHOFA members to be resilient farmers.

Currently, he said the main challenge for OKHOFA farmers was failure to satisfy the market demands. “We are producing in small quantity, therefore failing to penetrate and maintain the chain stores markets,” he said.

“We hope, with the donated farm equipment and knowledge imparted on us, we will come up with a cropping plan which will allow individual farmers to plough a certain crop on rotational basis to be able to satisfy the market,” he said.

Mr Morundu also said their wish was for government to establish a collection centre for their produce to be kept at accommodating temperatures and be readily available for retailers.

The chairperson of CEMAMA, Mr Solomon Tshenyo also appreciated the donation from the Turkish Embassy.

He said some of the ploughing equipment would be hired to farmers to generate income for the association. ENDS