Bobirwa farmers to benefit from livestock restocking relief
Tsaone Basimanebotlhe | Monday December 18, 2023 06:00
The Minister of Agriculture Fidelis Molao told parliament yesterday that livestock restocking relief programme comprises of 2827 cattle, 97 bulls, 367 sheep, 4890 goats and 296 donkeys for all eligible beneficiaries in Bobirwa.
Molao was responding to a question from Member of Parliament (MP) for Bobonong, Taolo Lucas who wanted to know progress in the restocking and compensation of Bobirwa farmers who were affected by the cross-border livestock rustling and the likely duration of the exercise and lessons learnt so far in the execution of the programme.
Responding to Lucas, Molao said the total cost for the relief programme is, over P21 million for livestock, P12 million for operational costs and 10 percent contingency of over P3 million. The minister pointed out that the total cost of the relief programme is over P36 million.
He said having received the assessment and verification report, the restocking exercise will commence with immediate effect and the likely duration of the exercise is four months.
Still, at Parliament, the MP for Mahalapye West David Tshere wanted the Minister of Agriculture to appraise Parliament on how the Botswana Animal Identification Traceability System (BAITS) works in the sale of livestock. The minister said BAITS is connected to the veterinary offices via the government data network (GDN) and the internet.
“The departmental staff has varying access rights to the system. The system is not interfaced with the police for possible interfacing. The police do have access rights to query the system for animal information including ownership, registration, transfers and brands. It is a legal requirement for cattle to be registered on BAITS before any transactions can be performed including issuance of movement permit, selling or ownership transfer. This is necessary for the reliability, credibility and equality of the animal traceability system,” Molao said.
Moreover, the minister said this is not only a requirement for the control of animal diseases but it is also a condition for access to high-value markets for livestock and animal products. He, however, said only the ministry, the farmer, the BAITS agent authorized by the farmer himself, or any person authorized by the farmer or has access to the farmer’s login credentials, can do transactions on behalf of the farmer. He said it is encouraged that if farmers become aware of an unauthorised transaction, they should immediately report to the ministry and the police. Molao also advised farmers to keep their login credentials secret and should regularly change them for security reasons.