Autlwetse decries poor farming produce
Lindiwe Mozola | Tuesday July 26, 2016 16:00
Autlwetse, also Member of Parliament (MP) for Serowe North, made the remarks during the just-ended annual Serowe Agricultural District Show held in Serowe over the weekend.
He decried poor performance by the farmers, saying failing to meet international standards in products was threatening the country’s food security.
He noted that according to the international standards of crop production, per hectare a farmer should produce 2,000 kilogrammes of yield or 40 bags. “Farmers here are still struggling with 10 bags per hectare,” he said. “Some farmers do not look after their fields once they have ploughed and this neglect plays a major role in poor yields.” With beef, he said the carcass weight required to meet international standards is 400 kilogrammes per cow, but locally 200 kilogrammes accounted for three cows, which is way below the standard of international level. “Something needs to be done with this.
We need transformation in the agriculture sector even though we are aware of the drought that has hit farmers across the country.
“We have no control over natural disasters and as such farmers should give their all in ensuring that they produce good quality products,” he said. He urged Batswana to change their perceptions of farming and agriculture, pointing out that the ploughing money government expends on them through programmes such as ISPAAD should not go to waste.
“We are supposed to produce for commercial benefit not only for family consumption,” he said.
“Livestock farmers should be encouraged to take only high quality cattle to the Botswana Meat Commission because if they just take anything below standard, they are killing the industry as well as degrading the commission.” For his part, an executive committee member of the Serowe Agriculture District Show, former assistant minister Keletso Rakhudu called on the private sector to play a greater role in supporting local farmers, saying food security is a national concern.