20 Mar 2014

Parliament has been informed that an agreement signed by the government, Nara Institute of Science and Technology and Japan Tobacco Incorporated on licensed technology will not be used to enhance the growing of tobacco.

Delivering a statement in Parliament on Wednesday, March 19, the Assistant Minister of Agriculture, Mr Oreeditse Molebatsi said even though the driving company was called Japan Tobacco and was established with its main product being tobacco, it had diversified such that it dealt with a number of products which were not tobacco related.

The tripartite and exclusive global licensing agreement was meant to use a technology for drought tolerance and increased productivity in monocotyledonous (narrow leaved) crops such as maize, millet and rice.

“It therefore excludes dicotyledonous plants (broad leaved) such as tobacco, potatoes and cow peas,” he said. The product, he said, arose from many years of collaborative research by the Ministry of Agriculture represented by the Department of Agricultural Research and the Nara Institute of Science and Technology of Japan.

Mr Molebatsi said the research was on a novel gene found from wild relative species of water-melon (kgengwe) found in the Kalahari Desert. He said the gene of the watermelon could be used to enhance the root systems of plants and hence improve the survival rate of crops in dry climates such as Botswana’s as well as increase yields.

He noted that the government and Nara Institute of Science and Technology of Japan were co- inventors of the technology and co-owners of the patent.

Mr Molebatsi further told Parliament that the country stood to benefit from the deal because a once off payment of US$20 000 would be paid to the government in two installments, and that part of the installment has been paid and the other one was due this month.

He said the benefits to farmers from using the technology would be realised after further development and commercialisation of the technology. “The bottom line is a move towards food security for our nation and the rest of the world,” he said. ENDS