04 Mar 2014

Private tractor owners are encouraged to independently source funds for fuel, Minister of Agriculture, Mr Christiaan De Graaff has said.

Responding to a question from Shoshong MP, Mr Dikgang Makgalemele on February 28, Minister De Graaff said tractor owners had the potential to secure seasonal loan from National Development Bank (NDB) where they could get loan interest subsidy by government.

He said government under ISPAAD subsidised interest rates by paying the difference between the market and prime rates. The minister said rates of ploughing and planting and harrowing set for private tractor owners took into consideration fuel, labour and maintenance cost.

Rates set in 2008 were P400 per hectare for ploughing (conventional tillage), P350 per hectare for minimum tillage, P150 per hectare for row planting and P150 per hectare for harrowing. The rates were revised in 2012 to mitigate against increase in fuel price labour and maintenance costs.

Minister De Graaff said ploughing or planting rates are now pegged at P800 per hectare, harrowing is P360 per hectare and minimum tillage is P500 per hectare. BOPA