12 Jan 2025

Government is pondering over harvesting rain water for irrigation to boost food security and self-sufficiency in the country.
Minister of Justice and Correctional Services, Mr Augustine Nyatanga was speaking during kgotla meetings he addressed in Ga-Setsile and Mokoswane on Thursday.
He spoke of the need to use new technologies to harvest rain water for irrigation purposes given the unreliability of climatic weather conditions.
He also said there was need to explore and harness all opportunities that may arise to boost food security in the country.
Mr Nyatanga said the country was blessed with many rivers, thus [we] should tap into the blessing, pointing that it was critical to dam rivers to avert a situation where rain water went to waste.
He said gone were the days when people relied on rain for agricultural produce given unfavourable conditions, thus triggering the need for a mind shift to use irrigation technologies to increase agricultural produce.
Mr Nyatanga said government was cognisant of the fact that in productivity there must be an action plan with clear timelines.
For his part, Mr Tapologo Sefemo, a resident of Ga-Setsile said land was a finite resource and therefore needed to be utilised wisely.
He spoke of the need to amend land policies and laws that proved to be bottlenecks in serving Batswana’s interest.
He expressed concern that Mahalapye Land Board was not doing enough to expedite land allocation processes, which was an impediment in food production efforts.
Meanwhile, Mr Moipi Montshiwa of Mokoswane pleaded with relevant authorities to consider erecting a fence between ploughing and pastures, noting such a move would boost food production. ENDS