fruit |
Minister of
Agricultural Development and Food Security, Mr Patrick Ralotsia said in a
statement delivered by deputy permanent secretary, Dr Keoagile Molapong
during the national horticulture field day at Maradu farms near Lobatse
on September 23.
Mr Ralotsia said
government through the eleventh National Development Plan (NDP 11)
viewed horticulture as a critical economic driver, adding that as at
June 2017, the sub-sector had created 1005 jobs across its value chain.
However, Mr Ralotsia was worried that most of the countless opportunities across the sector were not being utilised by Batswana.
As a result, he
said the nation continued to import about P7 billion worth of food among
them table fresh and processed vegetables from other nations per annum.
He said the tide
could be stemmed through concerted efforts from horticultural farmers
associations, private sector and government.
Nonetheless, Mr
Ralotsia has commended the sub sector for an improvement of 63 per cent
in both production and demand for domestic supply during the 2016/17
ploughing season despite challenges like lack of participation along the
horticulture value chain, among others.
He attributed the rising tide to hard work and visionary leadership of Botswana Horticultural Council(BoHoCo).
Mr Ralotsia, also
Member of Parliament (MP) for Kanye North constituency, however
encouraged BoHoCo not to sit on their laurels but revive the ten
district associations to achieve maximum production.
Under the theme,
"Horticulture, green diamond discovered, "Mr Ralotsia further shared
that government has taken a decision to use grey water for irrigation
and production of horticulture crops.
He said the available land for grey water irrigation now stood at 848 hectares.He stressed that an appropriate irrigation system was a prerequisite.
Mr Ralotsia also revealed that his ministry policy of 1991 was being reviewed.He explained that
the exercise would encompass the drafting and alignment of the
Horticulture policy and development of the ministry strategy.
The minister
furthermore advised food producers to buy and familiarise themselves
with Botswana Bureau of Standards guidelines for production.
He said the standards or guidelines were intended to enhance food safety, quality and facilitate easy marketing.
Mr Ralotsia
moreover implored input suppliers to partner with stakeholders through
demonstrations, field days with a view to build user capacity.
For her part, EU
First Secretary to Botswana Mrs Paz Velasco Velazquez encouraged more
involvement of the private sector to unlock the potential inherent in
horticulture.
She argued that the
sector was of strategic importance to the nation considering issues of
food security and economic diversification.
Although the sector
currently contributed very little to the GDP, she said it continued to
provide employment and livelihood to many.
She said the EU
supported the private sector development programme they believed it
could propel forward an inclusive and sustainable economic growth in the
country.
She said the private sector was key to development, job creation, increased income and effective poverty reduction strategy.
Mrs Velazquez
informed farmers that they had a training programme for Small Micro
Medium Enterprises (SMMEs) across a number of sectors, including fresh
fruits and vegetable producers with a view to strengthen their capacity
and competitiveness.
"We are working
with the government of Botswana to continue our support for an even more
inclusive economy," adding the objective was derived from NDP 11.
BoHoCo chairperson
Mr Boikaego Phole said they likened Horticulture with a diamond because
it has a huge potential to touch and change the lives of many Batswana
for the better.
Among other
achievements, he said through the green diamond campaign, they have
signed a Memorandum of Understanding with an Agri-Insurance company with
a view to provide farmers with an insurance cover.
Mr Phole also
shared that his organisation was negotiating deals with input and
equipment suppliers with the intention to cushion farmers from paying
more and enable them to compete within the SADC region.
He said their main
target was import substitution. He thanked EU and AON for the P200 000
and P100 000 worth of sponsorships for the event respectively.
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