Agric research centres merge

Maranyane Ngwanaamotho | Thursday March 6, 2014 09:28

 

The Minister of Agriculture, Christiaan De Graaff announced this in parliament recently when presenting his ministry’s proposed budget.

He said that they are confident that the new institute will upscale research in agriculture to inform developments in the sector.

Currently, NFTRC is leading the establishment of a pilot agro processing plant in Selebi-Phikwe in partnership with the poverty eradication programme. On the other hand, the Department of Agricultural Research last year registered an innovation or invention with the Patent Cooperation Treaty with the Japan NARA Institute of Science and Technology. The invention involves the use of genes from wild watermelons that have been found to have properties that enhance the growth of roots and the biomass on certain types of crops.

The two institutions are therefore co owners of the invention, which has since been licensed to Japan Tobacco for commercialisation. The co owners will get royalties in due course.

However, the Anti Tobacco Network has strongly criticised the government partnership with the tobacco industry, citing sections in the WHO Framework Convention on Tobacco Control that discourages governments from accepting sponsorships from the industry.

Meanwhile, the minister has celebrated the success of the Botswana Agricultural Marketing Board (BAMB), which has realised profits in three consecutive years. He said that BAMB maintained the enhanced price of pulses of P700 per 50 kg or P14,000/ton.

“Due to these conducive prices the pulses purchased increased from 953mt in 2012 to 3,000mt last year. I am pleased that majority of those who supplied the pulses were small farmers,” De Graaff said.