Citizens want to share in Panda’s economic revolution
Chakalisa Dube | Monday February 28, 2022 06:00
Government, through the Special Economic Zone initiatives and the private sector, is pumping millions of pula into transforming Pandamatenga into an economic engine in the country, where commercial agriculture and tourism will report the export-led diversification and growth sorely needed in the country.
As with diamond mining and tourism, citizens have limitations in the type of doors to open to benefit from the latest economic revolution. The most popular door is employment but unlike diamonds and tourism, commercial agriculture in Pandamatenga is proving more difficult than expected.
According to officials on the ground in the area, on average a single commercial farm of around 500 hectares employs five people in Pandamatenga, because much of the work is done by machinery. Experts say that if farms operated manually the number of jobs per 500-hectare farm would triple.
The current situation, which is similar to the latest trends in commercial agriculture across the world, lies opposite to the original intentions of government when Pandamatenga farms were created. At the time, in the 1980s, the idea was not only to boost food production and self-sufficiency but to also grow employment.
The transformation in agriculture means jobs will have to come from elsewhere. Pandamatenga councillor, Tengenyane Tuelo says more energy should be channelled away from direct jobs on the fields and into agro-processing.
“I think it is important for government to put more energy into making sure that the plans to establish agro-processing plants in Pandamatenga comes to fruition as soon as possible. “If prioritised or expiated, the project can create many jobs not only for residents in the Chobe District but also for the whole country,” he said.
Tuelo cites South Africa as one of the countries that have successfully used agro-processing plants to create massive employment opportunities for its citizens.
Nearly three years ago the government launched the Special Economic Zones (SEZ) as a way of accelerating economic growth and job creation to reduce abject poverty in the country. Areas such as Gaborone, Pandamatenga commercial farms, Palapye and Lobatse were identified for various SEZ initiatives.
As a part of the SEZ project, a total of 30,000 hectares of additional land for expansion was allocated by Chobe Land Board for expansion of the existing Pandamatenga Commercial Farmers to facilitate the dream by the Special Economic Zones Authority (SEZA). The authority was also allocated 100 hectares for the development of an agro-processing hub. However, Tuelo is worried about the time taken in delivering the noble ideas.
“My biggest worry is that the government will take longer to ensure that the Special Economic Zone is established. There is nothing on the ground that suggests that the project will soon take off. I urge the government to move swiftly and establish the project,” Tuelo said.
Government has sourced funding from the African Development Bank and a Memorandum of Agreement has been signed to release funding for the appointment of a Technical Advisor who will act as a transactional advisor during the development of the Expression of Interest (EOI), to identify partners who can develop the production zone through a Public Private Partnership model.
Another door Batswana are trying to open is to actively participate in agriculture in the Panda area. Pandamantenga Farmers Association chairperson Ryan Neal tells Mmegi that COVID-19 came as a blessing in disguise to the country as more Batswana moved into agricultural production.
“Although it is still early, Batswana are now shifting their focus to harnessing various opportunities in crop farming. “There is growing interest in crop farming among locals. “I don’t think we now have typical subsistence farmers in Pandamatenga. “We now have small to medium scale commercial farmers. COVID has really helped transform farming activities among locals in Pandamatenga. The change has been radical,” says the 36-year-old Neal.
With strong and strategic collaborations between commercial and subsistence farmers, Neal remains optimistic that the country’s ambitions to attain food self-sufficiency can easily be achieved.
Neal further notes that large scale commercial farmers have also been playing a bigger role in helping accelerate the growth of small farmers in the Pandamatenga area and surrounding areas.
“We often have engagements with small scale farmers in terms of how they can enhance their produce,” he says.
The chairperson adds that there is a strong need for the government to invest more in upskilling farmers to benefit from the farmers so that they benefit from various government initiatives and ultimately help the country attain food self-sufficiency.
“Currently, farming activities and their supporting businesses create over 1,000 jobs in the Panda, but the figures can improve if there is intensive capacity-building among small scale farmers,” he said.
Commercial farmers in the Pandamatenga area also offer internships to students studying various agricultural courses, particularly at the Botswana University of Agriculture and Natural Resources (BUAN). But there have been concerns that graduates are not eager to go into farming. Neal does agree.
He highlights that the trend that most commercial farmers have witnessed over the years is that most of the graduates want to go into formal employment than ‘getting their hands dirty’ in the farms or opening their own farming venture.
“We have been engaging BUAN to work around changing the mindset of graduates so that they embrace the idea of working in a typical farming environment. Farming requires patience and perseverance. It takes time for one to start reaping the rewards. Hopefully, the trend will change with time.”
The Chobe Land Board also notes that the level of citizen participation in farming in Pandamatenga has significantly gone up since COVID-19 exposed the country’s low food production.
“There is hardly a farm that is not under use in the Pandamatenga area. “COVID-19 has exposed our food security challenges but it has also encouraged Batswana in the area to start to embark more into farming,” the Land Board chairperson, Johane Chenjekwa says.
Chenjekwa said that in a bid to encourage farming the Land Board has also started allocating 20-hectare fields instead of the 12.5-hectare it used to allocate in the past. He added that preliminary figures show that few Batswana own their land in the Pandamatenga area.
“We have also been encouraging Batswana to sublet their farming fields if they do not use them instead of selling them.”
Land ownership is a hot topic in Panda. In the 1980s many Batswana were allocated farms for various agricultural activities to spearhead the country’s economic diversification efforts. Years later Batswana sold these to foreigners. Almost all the larger commercial farms in the Pandamatenga area are now in the hands of the white farmers.
Besides agriculture, foreigners also dominate ownership of prime tourism land in the Chobe District. Chenjekwa says Batswana are now aware of the significance of tourism as well as agricultural land. “Public education has helped a lot. We no longer receive a lot of applications for land transfer of land ownership for tourism, residential, agriculture and other forms of commercial use. “There is no room for complacency, we will continue educating Chobe residents about the importance of not selling land,” Chenjekwa says.
Batswana have also been allocated plots under the Special Economic Zone at Pandamatenga, under which investors will receive a range of incentives, access to infrastructure and other support for agricultural development.
Chenjekwa says Batswana who do benefit from the SEZ will not sell the land. He states that Batswana in the Pandamatenga area now showing massive interest in farming and related activities, which is why many of them will not be eager to sell their land should they be allocated as part of the initiatives by SEZA.
“We will make sure that the recommendations we put forward to the Special Economic Zone Authority and other government organisations ensure that Batswana are not left out. “They must be at the forefront of driving the country’s economic transformation through the Pandamatenga SEZ,” the Land Board chair says.
In fact, vast interest in the land has even forced the Land Board to review its land allocation policy of 2013 and align it to the country’s revised Land Policy of July 2019.
“As part of the policy, the Land Board has increased the size of farming land it allocates to subsistence farmers from a maximum of 12.5 hectares to 20 hectares. “It also allows individuals to benefit from the change of use and introduction of additional uses as well as to allow for practising integrated farming given the shortage of land in the district. “People are happy with the development and the few we have allocated are eager to utilise their fields.”
He also explained that they have been encouraging those who have land but cannot use it to sublet instead of sell.
Many times, citizens are left filled with regret when sudden economic opportunities appear and leave them behind. The developments in Pandamatenga are an opportunity for them to be well placed for the growth that is due to take place in the area.