New Agric policy pushes commercialisation
Keikantse Lesemela | Friday June 6, 2014 16:05
Mmegi: Give us the background of the policy?
Shatera: Botswana first formulated a national policy on agricultural development in 1991. At the time, identified development objectives aimed to improve food security, diversify the production base, increase output and productivity, increase employment, and provide a secure and productive environment for producers as well as the conservation of agricultural land resources for future generations. An analysis of the evolution of policy objectives since independence shows that the major policy shift was the abandonment of the food self-sufficiency stance and its replacement with the broader food security strategy in 1991. While food self sufficiency means promotion of domestic production of food-grains at all cost, food security is ‘when all people at all times have access to sufficient, safe, nutritious food to maintain a healthy and active life’
Mmegi: What are the factors that you consider to be a problem in the policy?
Shatera: The main problem has been the implementation of the 1991 national policy on agricultural development and lack of defined strategies for each objective that would have facilitated the monitoring and evaluation of the performance of the policy against all the set objectives.
Mmegi: Briefly elaborate on the new changes that you have made in the policy
Shatera: Some of the objectives of 1991 national policy on agricultural development were reformulated to take cognizance of the changing environment such as the new thinking beyond diversification of the agricultural production base to commercialisation of the agriculture sector. The revised policy has defined strategies for each objective and also includes the implementation plan or framework for ease of monitoring and evaluation of all the current and future programmes and projects
Mmegi: With the current low contribution of agriculture to the economy how do you think the new policy is going to benefit the country?
Shatera: Contribution of agriculture is low if measured by its proportion to GDP. It contributes raw materials to these sectors where the raw materials are not classified as Agriculture. This development is not unique to Botswana but all over the world. However the agricultural growth is realised through other agricultural commodities, which contribute to the overall growth of the sector and in its contribution to the economic growth through the linkages with other sectors such as raw materials classified under Manufacturing sector and agro-tourism classified under the Tourism sector.
Mmegi: What are the strategies that you have put forward in order to implement this policy so that it benefits the citizens?
Shatera: The revised policy has defined strategies for each objective and also includes the implementation plan or framework for ease of monitoring and evaluation of all the current and future programmes and projects. Whatever dispensation Government comes up with, it will be monitored and evaluated to show its efficacy and its socioeconomic worth to poverty alleviation and food security.
Mmegi: One of the factors that hinder agriculture production in Botswana is insufficient water and lack of land. How is the policy going to tackle these challenges?
Shatera: Water is not a problem for agriculture alone but also for human consumption. The Ministry has involved all relevant stakeholders to address water shortage and shortage of land for agriculture. The Ministry in collaboration with Ministry of Lands and Housing and Water Utilities Corporation is availing land around Water Utilities Corporation ponds to use effluent water for irrigation to facilitate urban and peri-urban agriculture to boost the level of production. The Ministry in collaboration with Ministry of Lands and Housing is also identifying land and gazzetting as agricultural land since most of the productive land is paving way for other national developments.
Mmegi: What advise can you give to Batswana?
Shatera: The national policy on agricultural development is there to define a road map for the agricultural sector development. Use it to guide you in all the activities you want to embark on that will lead to agricultural production and hence food security and poverty alleviation