Southern farmers resign to their fate
Goitsemodimo Kaelo | Friday December 18, 2015 15:13
Every year around March, travellers along the Gaborone-Molepolole road know to expect piles of melons, sweet reed and maize, as farmers in the region proudly sell their harvest.
For many here, the roadside sales are an invaluable source of income and for motorists, an annual treat to look forward to.
However, a Mmegi newscrew that visited the area this week was met by the dejected and weather beaten faces of farmers who, instead of looking to the heavens for rain, were rather seeking shade from the third heatwave of the season.
Field after field in the area is yet to be ploughed and the agony of the situation is clear in the cracked voices and forced smiles the newscrew encountered.
At Diphepe lands, Dikae Ramohibidu shakes his head and grits his teeth as he points to an anthill standing in the middle of what should be a field of germinating crops.
“This year will be a joke and total waste if one ploughs. I don’t want to lie, we all want to plant something but if there is no rain, why should we plant. There is absolutely nothing to do,” he says. Ramohibidu says he has given up on ploughing this season and can only pray that it rains so that those who have already planted a few hectares produce ‘something’ from their fields.
For him the situation is all too familiar as he went through the same desperation and frustration last year.
“Last year, I planted six hectares but nothing germinated even though I had taken advice from the agricultural officers and planted in rows. I was devastated. I thought this year would be better, but it does not look like it will rain. Ke setse ke ineetse.”
The farmer says while government is doing its part by subsidising seeds, feeds, tillage services and offering advice on the crops to plant, the situation cannot be salvaged because government does not control the skies.
“Prayer is the only hope the nation should have.”
In Metsimaswaane lands, Buru Motodi believes any farmer who planted is being wasteful. While he intended to plough this year, the poor rains convinced him not to.
“I don’t expect those who planted to get anything because of the heatwave,” he says.
“I am yet to receive seeds supplied by agricultural officers and I don’t know why I should take them.
“Last year, I did not plant because I was preparing for my wedding and this year, hopefully a miracle happens and it rains before the end of the ploughing season.”
Ngakaemang Gape of Lara lands in Ramotswa has tilled his field, and is now awaiting seeds from agricultural officers.
“I intend to plant two hectares, but the way things are going, I don’t think I will manage. The situation is bad because now it also does not seem like it will rain soon. Last year was better, but I will remain hopeful that it rains before the end of the year.”
For Gape’s neighbour, Kealeboga Sebolao, things are much more promising this year. Sebolao, who is also into pastoral farming, has planted maize and lab-lab mainly for feeding his livestock.
His plants have germinated and are about 30 centimetres tall. He says last year he had a good harvest of lablab and sorghum.
“I consider the advice we get from agricultural officers, but this time, I felt I needed to plant maize to feed my livestock. I did not receive seeds from government and used my own resources.
“Although the skies do not show any promise, I am sure it will rain soon,” he says.
In the same area, Leepile Gaanakobo blames the poor rains and his own advanced age for his failure to plant. He already knows he will struggle to put food on the table as the situation has also deteriorated the state of his livestock.
“There is no hope for me. I don’t know what my family is going to eat because I did not plough. Even my livestock has finished. Some are dead while others have been stolen. My health is also deteriorating in this heatwave.”
According to Gaanakobo, people in the area are generally losing interest in farming because of successive poor rainfall seasons.