PRESIDENT MOKGWEETSI MASISI OFFICIALLY OPENS MOSISEDI 4th HARVEST DAY

PRESIDENT MOKGWEETSI MASISI OFFICIALLY OPENS MOSISEDI 4th HARVEST DAY

President Mokgweetsi Masisi says government will accelerate multiple use of land to drive diversification and job creation.

Officiating at the fourth annual Mosisedi cluster farmers’ harvest day on May 4, President Masisi said government would fast track land allocation for commercial agriculture and avail adequate funding through development of financial institutions to enable them to provide credit facilities to the farmers. This, he said, would be done with a view to capacitate farmers to produce enough food for the country with the ultimate goal of targeting the export market.

President Masisi said government, through the national Vision 2036, recognised that the majority of Batswana lived in rural areas, where the bulk of agricultural activities took place.

He argued that if the necessary support was given to agriculture, it would have a direct impact on the livelihoods of many people through the provision of food and employment throughout the country.

Mr Masisi said government was committed to developing the agricultural sector that optimised the use of land with the utilisation of knowledge and modern farming technologies to improve productivity.

Mr Masisi said Mosisedi farmers were a source of inspiration to many Batswana, particularly young farmers. He said the farmers had proven beyond doubt that commercial farming in the country was viable.

“I assure you that government is committed to developing a sustainable, technology-driven and commercially viable agricultural sector, hence my support and appreciation of the good work that you are doing here,” he said.

Mr Masisi further applauded the farmers for having persevered to improve their investment despite the fact that the rains came late this year.

He also applauded stakeholders, particularly input suppliers and development financial institutions for the support they continued to provide to the farmers, saying being a cluster enabled them to have enhanced bargaining power and sharing of resources that could have been ordinarily out of reach for some individual farmers.

The president said government promoted the spirit of working together so farmers could articulate issues of concern better. He encouraged the farmers to continue nurturing the spirit of team work.

Despite the challenges that the farmers faced, he said he was impressed by the way they had effectively used the prime land they had been allocated, noting that their untiring efforts were being appreciated by government because they had a potential to address the twin problems of poverty and unemployment.

He said the cluster farmers had currently employed 85 full time workers and over 500 casual employees. However, he challenged the farmers to increase the numbers once Mosisedi Service Centre became operational.

Mr Masisi has also applauded the commercial farmers for having a strategic partnership with AFGRI Group Holdings, which deals in grain and hoped many others would come on board.

He pledged that the Rural Development Council would also partner with the cluster, noting that the council might not be as endowed as AFGRI, but was armed with patriotic compassion.

Mr Masisi said government’s investment in agricultural sector was significant as evidenced by robust programmes with a view to improving overall output.

Mr Masisi said one of the key priorities of government was to accelerate the implementation of programmes such as ISPAAD, adding that government would continue to strive for and identify the commercialisation of the sector in order to contribute to economic growth and diversification and achievement of food security at household and national level.

Meanwhile, President Masisi had raised concern that land, which could have otherwise been used to grow food for the nation, was not being utilised. He encouraged owners of the land to use the land to extract maximum economic value from it, noting that land was of paramount importance in determining the economic fortunes of any nation.

The president started his address by observing a moment of silence in respect of the late first Motswana master farmer and former president, Sir Ketumile Masire, who had attended the previous event.

Mr Masisi, who also attended the event last year, said he was happy to be associated with it. He said the harvest day was important not only to Mosisedi community, but to the entire nation. ENDS