20 Aug 2024

Member of Parliament of Francistown South, Mr Wynter Mmolotsi has called on government to consider assisting farmers drill boreholes in their farms in order to encourage food security and self-sufficiency.

Tabling a motion in Parliament on Friday, Mr Mmolotsi said government through various programmes was determined to develop agriculture, therefore such efforts would prove futile if there was no water.
“Water is vital to any form of agriculture for the sector to thrive,” he said.

Mr Mmolotsi said arable farming initiatives that were supported by government such as ISPAAD were running at a loss as due to shortage of water.

He added that farmers relied on dry farming and therefore not getting the desired yields due to little rainfall which was worsened by climatic changes.  

“In the event the water is saline, the use of advanced technology will be roped in to reduce the salt in the water and make it usable for irrigation,” he added.

Again, he said programmes such as Temo Letlotlo and its beneficiaries were not getting the desired results as rainfall was unreliable.

He argued that the ban on the import of some vegetable would not help the local farmers to sustain the local market owing to shortage of water.

“The import bill is even high as Batswana are unable to cultivate their fields and produce food due to lack of water. Helping farmers with schemes to drill boreholes for irrigation in their farms will result in food security,” he said.

Currently, he said the country was importing a lot of sorghum from as far as Brazil, mainly due to shortage of water.

The Vice President, His Honour Slumber Tsogwane, also MP for Boteti West, opposed the motion, saying government was already engaged in programmes assisting farmers to drill boreholes for agricultural purposes.

He said individual or clustered farmers were assisted with funding for drilling of boreholes in their farms. “Even though this is the case, some farmers who have drilled boreholes are unable to use the water for irrigation purposes or even water their livestock due to high saline while others have hit blanks,” he said.  

MP for Maun East, Mr Goretetse Kekgonegile supported the motion saying water and agriculture were inseparable. Mr Kekgonegile said water was a vital ingredient to the success of agriculture.

He said given the current climatic conditions and the quest to produce more, dry farming was highly impossible with the little or no rainfall and therefore, it was impossible to produce the desired harvests that would sustain the household, the nation as well as the export market.

For his part, the Minister of Agriculture, Honourable Fidelis Molao said the motion had been overtaken by events because farming programmes such as Temo Letlotlo and Thuo Letlotlo had packages for helping clustered or individual farmers with grants and subsidised loans to, among others, drill and equip boreholes.

Minister Molao said Leshibitse and Masunga clusters as well as some individual farmers across the country were assisted with drilling boreholes and were now practicing both dry and irrigation farming.

He added that government programmes aimed at improving food security and improving agriculture covered syndicates, clusters, youth, women and other vulnerable groups, who were assisted with ways of getting water for integrated farming activities. The debate on the motion is expected to continue  on Friday.

Meanwhile, Parliament rejected a motion tabled by MP for Selebi Phikwe West, Mr Dithapelo Keorapetse, which called on government to revamp Selebi Phikwe economy through the mining industry by relocating the Department of Mines headquarters to the town.

Mr Keorapetse also suggested that the town be prioritised for base metal processing plants such as smelters, refineries and manufacturing facilities, establishing a national nickel and copper mining museum as well as favouring the town for major mining events.

The motion also requested government to move the Department of Mining and Geological Engineering of the College of Engineering and Technology from Palapye to Selebi Phikwe for the purpose of establishing BIUST Selebi Phikwe campus. ENDS