Drought-torn Borolong cries for help

PINI BOTHOKO
Correspondent | Friday March 16, 2012 00:00

Dingongorego Charles, 68, has been relying on farming to provide food for his family since he retired in 2005.  'It has been good all along. I used to plough three hectares, which was enough to sell and feed my family. This year I did not harvest anything at all due to lack of rainfall, ' said Charles, a well-known farmer in the village. Last season he had a great yield from the three hectares of maize and sweet reed he planted.Part of the yield raised P5,000, through sales to primary schools in Borolong and Francistown.

'This season we did not harvest anything at all despite using Seedco seeds which do well in dry seasons. At first the seeds worked well but the sun was a little bit harsh. The crops were burnt. I do not know what I will give my family as we survive through farming,' he said.

Kesentseng Sibanda, 57, said she started farming as a teenager in 1978. She said she ploughed 7.5 hectares this season. 'Re bolawa ke Modimo le goromente. God is punishing us with high temperatures, and we are not allowed to do things that we used to survive on,' said Sibanda. She said that she raised her six children and 13 grandchildren as a single mother through selling chibuku in her yard.  'Last season I had a better yield. I ploughed six hectares and harvested 17 sacks of sorghum. I am still eating that today. I am not expecting anything at all this season. Because I love farming, I still go to the fields everyday hoping things will be better, ' explains Sibanda. For her part, Kereng Motswetla, 76, said: 'I am wasting my energy ploughing for other people's livestock to feed on my crops. I am quitting farming this season'. Boikhutso Rabasha, a public relations officer at the Ministry of Agriculture, said that all farmers in Botswana have been affected by the lack of rainfall.

'Temperatures continue to be high, at times exceeding 40 degrees celsius. This has a negative impact on plants,' she said. Rabasha explained that although crops like maize do not do well under high temperatures, most Batswana like to plough it.  She was hoping that her office would report the unfavourable conditions to cabinet so that farmers can be helped through the drought.