Fallow Fields Won't Feed The Nation- Khama

More serious farmers will be given preference in the allocation of agricultural land. This was revealed by President Ian Khama when officially opening a consultative stakeholders' pitso in agriculture in Sebele last Friday.

"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.

Editor's Comment
Gov’t must rectify recognition of Khama as Kgosi

While it is widely acknowledged that Khama holds the title of Kgosi, the government’s failure to properly gazette his recognition has raised serious concerns about adherence to legal procedures and the credibility of traditional leadership. (See a story elsewhere in this newspaper.) Recent court documents by the Minister for Local Government and Rural Development, Kgotla Autlwetse, shed light on the intricacies of Khama’s recognition process....

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