Fallow Fields Won't Feed The Nation- Khama

MARANYANE NGWANAAMOTHO
Staff Writer | Monday May 10, 2010 00:00

'I am disturbed by the amount of agricultural land that is lying uncultivated when we import over 60 percent of our food,' said the President. 'The government is, therefore, working with relevant local authorities to repossess unutilised agricultural land to allocate it to serious farmers, the small, micro, medium and enterprises.'

  Khama said the country cannot be fed from idle land and that it is time to manage agriculture in such a way that profits are maximised.  To that end, unutilised government farms are to be leased out to serious farmers. 'Plans are at an advanced stage to lease out 99 000 hectares of land in Banyana Farm for livestock production,' he said.

Khama commended the Integrated Support Programme for Arable Agriculture Development (ISPAAD) for its success, saying the scheme has increased cereal production two fold.

'I am informed that this trend is likely to continue this season as about 288 000 hectares have been cultivated and an estimated cereal production of 83 000 metric tones is expected,' he said.

 The President urged arable farmers organisations to weed out non-farmers from the ISPAAD programme.  'To this end, the government is committed to assisting only those farmers who have shown commitment in managing their fields,' he added.

 However, President Khama warned that the recent rains could affect the yield and quality of produce negatively, especially in fields that were ploughed early.