25 Jun 2025

Many Batswana are tapping into opportunities presented by the Pandamatenga Commercial farmers through knowledge sharing.

The agronomy hub offers diverse skills, from farm operations, mechanical skills, crop management, machinery maintenance, crop lifecycles and fertilisation, harvesting techniques among others. Eagle Ranch worker, Ms Oganeditse Sicholi told BOPA that she was a caretaker of grapevine, a skill that she learnt from being a general worker at a farm owned by Mr Hill van Schalkwyk, who mentored her on grapevine handling and planting.

Ms Sicholi indicated that with the skills acquired, she was now an expert of canopy management and ensured that birds did not destroy the grapes. She said she was also responsible for pruning, shoot thinning and overall handling of grapevines as they were a sensitive fruit.

Furthermore, Ms Secholi said that her duties entailed feeding the grapevines the right amount of water and fertilizer. Her daily routine involves walking in between the vine rows, to check for pests and weeds and exterminate them accordingly.

BUAN student attaché at Access Holdings farms, Mr Taziba Gabosekegwe said he was grateful for the opportunity accorded to him by the owners together with their workers, to mentor him and exchange knowledge in farming. As a Bachelor of Science in Agricultural Mechanisation student, he remarked that he had been at the commercial farm since beginning of June, and learnt different farm operations including machinery.

He pointed out that since his arrival, he was given an opportunity to operate a combined harvester and worked at the horticulture garden where he studied pesticides and fertilizers. Moreover, Mr Gabosekegwe indicated that he was currently working with other farm workers to harvest sorghum and millet which they would later pack.

“This has been an amazing experience for me because here, things are done differently through the use of machinery to harvest, thrash then package the crops,” said Mr Gabosekegwe.

He said farming presented many opportunities to create wealth and promote economic growth hence encouraged the youth to explore it. Mr Gabosekwe said that Batswana had potential to become commercial farmers because the foundation had already been laid by the forefathers. ENDS