Beyond bad: TOTUMA farmers count losses :: Mmegi Online

FRANCISTOWN: Climate change and a series of poor harvests, including the recently declared drought year, have left members of the Tonota, Tutume and Masunga Arable and Commercial Farmers Association (TOTUMA) anxious and in distress.

There seems to be no end in sight for the misery TOTUMA members and other farmers in the North eastern part of the country are going through, as they suffer due to increasingly unreliable rainfall and the economic fallout from COVID-19.

From over 59 members at the peak of its membership, TOTUMA last season had just 36 members, having lost many farmers over the years for various reasons. The 2022-2023 season was particularly difficult for the farmers’ association, with “just a handful” of the 36 remaining members being able to “harvest something,” says chairperson, Stephen Pillar.

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