ADDRESS BY HIS HONOUR THE VICE PRESIDENT AND MP FOR MMADINARE, DR PONATSHEGO H.K. KEDIKILWE AT MMADINARE DISTRICT AGRICULTURAL SHOW DINNER ON THE 12TH JULY, 2014. Director of Ceremonies Dikgosi Honourable Councillors Deputy District Commissioner Chairman of the Show Committee Senior Government officials Heads of Parastatal Organisationshere present Members of the Private Sector Captains of Industry Balemi le Barui Members of the Fourth Estate Distinguished guests Ladies and Gentleman; I greet you all this evening! 1. I am pleased to participate in this evening’s occasion,Mmadinare Agricultural Show dinner sponsored by the Motor Vehicle Accident Fund (MVA).I wish to indicate how happy I am that thedinner is hosted, inter alia, to appreciate my role in supporting the Agricultural Show over the years as well as a special farewell for my retirement. Such spirit of cooperation should be nurtured as it cultivates the spirit of oneness and nationhood. The Mmadinare Agricultural Show has become an important calendar event in this constituency. It is through Agricultural Shows that farmers are able to show-case their produce for the year; not onlyisthisa source of livelihood, but also a source of pride for excelling farmers. This year has been a good one in that good rains have enabledfarmers to cultivate increased hectarage. 2. In April 2014, I had an opportunity to tour some fields at Mmatau and Nkwanapedi in MmadinareNorth.I attended a farmers’ field day at Mmatau Lands where farmers staged a mini-agricultural show of their green produce. This is very pleasing and I urge everyone to uphold this spirit in order to sustain production to attain food security that is so badly needed by this country. 3. The Mmadinare Agricultural Show organisers, farmers, exhibitors and promoters demonstrated resilience and perseverance over the years, despite serious challenges like the outbreak of foot and mouth disease (FMD).I wish to commend thisteam led by the Chairman, and encourage the team to soldier onand keep up the good work. 4. The team soldiers on inspite of countervailing acts of vandalism. I am concerned by the magnitude of vandalism on infrastructure at the Show ground. The repair costs for the vandalised infrastructure and replacement of stolen property such as gates, fences, doors, corrugated iron roofingetc rose from P18 000 in 2013 to P22 000 in 2014.Vandalism is a criminal act that constitutes war against community development. It is therefore everyone’s responsibility to police the community property so that the gains made are not unduly lost. 5. Agriculture is an important sector to the economy of any country.Agriculture is a primary source of food security,employment, self-reliance, raw materials for industry and indeed a source of health and wealth for thepeople. The spinoffs from agriculture have a ripple effect on household needs and national projects.Of historic and classical importance is the contribution by the people of Botswana to build from scratch what today is the sprawling University of Botswana. The contribution came from humble subsistence Agriculture resources. The clarion slogan was, “motho le mothokgomo” (one man one beast). Agriculture’scontribution to the Gross Domestic Product (GDP), though having relatively declined since independence, continues to contribute significantlyto the overall economy of this country. Besides, it would be much fairer to assess agriculture’s contribution to the non-mining GNP as opposed to the aggregated GDP. Contribution to GDP aside, national food self-sufficiency is a matter of national pride. 6. In this regard,the government has always and will continue to support agriculture through the various programs such as the Integrated Support Program for Arable Agriculture Development (ISPAAD)annually allocated P250 million,the Livestock Management and Infrastructure Development (LIMID), annually allocated P50 million.Previously, there were programs such as the Accelerated Rainfed Arable Program (ARAP), the Arable Land Development Program (ALDEP), Services to Livestock Owners in Communal Areas (SLOCA), Livestock Water Development Program (LWDP), Financial Assistance Policy (FAP) to mention a few, through which agriculture was supported. 7. Although the government has made significant strides in agriculture development, I wish to share challenges which always threaten to erode our efforts. These areassociated with cyclical droughts, animal and crop diseases and pests, and other natural calamities. 8. There are evident achievements despite challenges such as cyclical droughts, diseases and pests.The sector has grown significantly over the years.To demonstrate this, field crop production (cereals, pulses, etc.) has increased from 420 000 bags of 50kg (21,000metric tons)in 2004 to 1 240 000bags of50kg (62,000metric tons) in 2011.This year a yield of over 4 millionbags of50kg (200, 000metric tons)is expected. In addition, the average yield per hectare has also increasedfrom 5bags of50kg (0.25 metric tons) to 20 bags of 50kg (1.0 metric tons) per hectare, due to the increasing use of fertilizers and row-planting practices availed through ISPAAD. This is by any measure, a very significant growth of the sector. This growth has also been verified by economists, who frequently quoted agriculture as key component of the non-mining sector, which has shown significant growth in recent years. 9. I therefore wish to offer advice to subsistence farmers to plough and plant on average 3-5 hectares that one can manage with the requisite technologies and therefore produce more tonnes per hectare. Through proper soil tillage, weeding and pests control, row plantingand fertilizing good harvest can be realised. Example, in Mmadinare North,I am encouraged that in the 2013/14 ploughing season, some 100 farmers exceeded the Ministry of Agriculture’s maize production target of 20-40 bags per hectare by producing 40-45 bags per hectare. 10. I am further impressed by the significant increase in hectarage of row planting, harrowing and use of hybrid seeds that contributed to increased yields. In 2012/13 ploughing season, ploughed hectarage increased from 1 322.14 hectaresof maize to 1 688 hectaresin 2013/14 season. This has resulted in yields of 2-13 bags per hectare in 2012/13 that increased to 15-45 hectares in 2013/14. The yields for beans increased from 5-10 bags per hectare in 2012/13 to 10-30 bags per hectare in 2013/14. Sorghum was greatly affected by quelea birds and between 2-10 bags per hectare is expected this season. 11. Government is aware that some parts of this country, in particular Kgalagadi and Gantsi, are not suitable for arable farming. As a result, farmers in these areas do not benefit fully from the conventional ISPAAD. Government has therefore initiated a targeted assistance programme for farmers in the western parts of the country. The package includes assistance with karakul sheep, Tswana sheep and goats, Tswana chickens, pulses and melons. 12. Horticulture production ispromising.Government assists farmers through the ISPAAD horticulture component, as well as through other programs such as the Young Farmers Fund and Youth Development Fund. Through collaboration and advice from SPEDU,Mmadinare area stands to benefit as the nearby Motloutse River offers a source of water for irrigation. I therefore implore everyone to seize this opportunity and do more irrigated agriculture. 13. Another initiative that the government has established is the SelebiPhikwe Economic Diversification Unit (SPEDU) project. Agriculture has been identified as the key sector which can drive the SPEDU area to enhance Economic Diversification Driveand employment creation and as such it is one of the major sectors which should play a vital role in the SPEDU zonal effort. To this end, SPEDU and the National Food Technology Research Centre (NFTRC) are embarking upon horticulture processing plant in Selebi-Phikwe to salvage produce in the SPEDU region. Farmers and industry players are therefore encouraged to take advantage of this initiative and support it. Nationally, government is looking at ways to utilise treated waste water for crop irrigation; already in other places such as Glen Valley in Gaborone treated waste water is being used for irrigation. 14. On the livestock sectorthe outbreak of foot and mouth disease is a continuous threat.In 2011 cattle were lost to control the disease. Compensation followed. The restocking exercise has had its own woes as some cattle died. I am pleased that government has responded positively to farmers’ pleas to replace “restocking”cattle that died, if evidence of cause of deathcan be produced. I therefore urge farmers to cooperate withthe Ministry of Agriculture officials to achieve the objective. 15. Arable and pastoral practices are part of our culture. They have always involved risks and challenges. Challenges have never been enough reason for usto abandon the venture. This is why we continue to this day. Let’s take advantage of modern tools and technologies to improve methods of husbandry and tillage. 16. After a long journey of service to the people of Mmadinare Constituency, I must retire. The Show Committee has been kind to me to host tonight’s dinner in honour of my retirement. I am humbled and thank you most sincerely. As a resident in this District I shall continue to support significant community efforts like the Agricultural Show. It is a worthwhile community endeavour that should sustain livelihoods, literally forever. 17. In conclusion, I wish once again to thank the Show Committee, Exhibitors, farmers, the Public and all the stakeholders including MVA Fund who have made this event a reality. 18. To recognise and support the Committee’s noble and sustained effort in promoting the Mmadinare District Agricultural Show, I wish to contribute my widow’s might of P5 000-00 (five thousand). I thank you. P U L A P U L A P U L A
Posted on: Mon, 14 Jul 2014 09:00:00 +0000
Trending Topics
Recently Viewed Topics
© 2015