12 Oct 2026

The minister of Lands and Agriculture, Dr Edwin Dikoloti has commended farmers for their resilience and determination in the face of challenges.  Speaking during the Mokatako Harvest Day and Award ceremony on Friday, Dr Dikoloti said the Mokatako/Molete farmers have performed exceptionally well in the Lemang Dijo Programme, with some bringing in more than 90 bags. 

He said this was worthy of praise and that other farmers across the country would look to the Mokatako/Molete farmers to learn how they had succeeded in the Lemang Dijo Programme.

Dr Dikoloti said government was committed to helping farmers get the most out of Lemang Dijo Programme, saying they would not encourage failure but would assist farmers who were dedicated.

He urged farmers to take the programme seriously, noting that those who have harvested more than two tonnes per hectare would be given an extra hectare in the 2026/2027 planting season as they had shown commitment.

The top achievers included Mr Tiroyaone Moseki who harvested 92 bags and Mr Tiroyaone Tobosi, who harvested 90 bags out of the Lemang Dijo programme. Amongst the tokens of appreciations awarded to the top archivers were knap sack sprayers, cellphones, while consolation prizes awarded to several farmers included bags of maize seeds. 

Earlier on his opening remarks, Kgosi Lotlamoreng II of Barolong praised Mokatako/Molete farmers for achieving greater harvests under the one-hectare Lemang Dijo programme.

He expressed appreciation to the farmers, praising them for producing bumper harvests, saying their efforts could turn the Goodhope District into an agricultural hub.

He said the region was once known for its bumper harvests and urged farmers to make full use of the same land their predecessors used to achieve even better results.

Kgosi Lotlaamoreng II also appealed to government to consider granting top-performing farmers in the Lemang Dijo Programme an additional hectorage to motivate them to produce more.

For his part the acting deputy director of Crop Production, Mr William Kapela said the aim of the day was to celebrate farmers who had excelled in the Lemang Dijo Programme, adding that they had shown the programme could produce positive results.

He also praised them for producing a variety of crops, not only maize, and said it was good to see legumes and other produce among their harvests. Mokatako Harvest Day was held under the theme: Celebrating Excellence in Agricultural Production: Mokatako Farmers Leading the Way to High Yields. ENDS