Urgent need to revive agriculture

Last week, Agriculture, Lands and Housing Parliamentary Oversight Committee Chairman, Mephato Reatile urged government to develop strategies within the agriculture sector and grow it to an economic engine that it was before the minerals were discovered. Reatile committee’s expectation is that it is imperative to do such given the critical need to address issues of food security in the country.

We support MP Reatile’s calls that something has to be done to revive the agriculture sector. Since the discovery of minerals, especially diamonds, agriculture has gone into hibernation, with minimal contribution to the Growth Domestic Product.

Even with a number of interventions introduced by government, the sector is failing to wake up from its slumber. More has to be done and new strategies are needed to resuscitate the sector. Currently, there is a shortage of vegetables in the country and our local farmers are unable to meet the market demands. Agriculture can propel prolific economic growth with the right resources invested in it, including government investing to support smallholder farmers.

As noted by Reatile, our Agriculture Policy was developed over 40 years ago and current developments tell us we need a new framework to raise the sector. We need, as a country, new ideas for the sector. Botswana has huge tracts of undeveloped agricultural land.

This can change if our farmers can have access to more capital, electricity, better technology and irrigated land to grow high- value nutritious foods. A lot of Batswana own masimo, but most of this land is uderutilised because many have no access to finance and better technology to turn their masimo into productive land. Funding institutions have made it difficult for an average Motswana to access funds with their policies of part funding projects. It is a nightmare for a Motswana to source money to fund a start- up agribusiness project and this is contributing to the failure of the agriculture sector.

There is an urgent need to address issues of the national head and food security, our agricultural support systems and regulatory framework if we are to achieve food security. In considering some of the Legislative framework under the agro sector, the Agriculture, Lands and Housing Parliamentary Oversight Committee found that most of the laws in place are very old and have been surpassed by new and emerging challenges. This has to be addressed as a matter of urgency; Parliament has to amend some of these laws to align them with modern farming methods. Access to land is also a nightmare for many potential farmers as many are in the waiting list to be allocated land. The waiting lists in some land boards date back to the 90s. Land boards should therefore come up with new strategies of allocating land. The rest will fall into place when the market for farm produce is readily available in Botswana and the region.