Botswana Revives Agric Sector

Botswana: Botswana: Botswana Revives Agric Sector

21 August 2007, Gaborone
Botswana, unlike other countries in the SADC region, is not blessed with all the ingredients to enable it to be self-sufficient in food production. Its land mass is mostly covered by desert.
Also, HIV/AIDS is a big problem. Despite all this, there is still hope that the country can feed itself and moves are afoot to revive the local agriculture sector.

During this years Parliamentary budget session in February, finance and development planning minister Baledzi Gaolathe announced several incentive schemes and subsidies for farmers designed to entice the youth to venture into farming and to rekindle the older generations interest in agriculture.

Among these programmes is the reformulated Arable Land Development Programme (ALDEP) III, which focuses on strengthening the extension services, technology transfer and adoption, training and supporting previous and current beneficiaries of the programme to utilize packages acquired.

The target group for the programme is the resource poor farmers whose farming efficiency is hampered by inadequate resources.

Although the farmers eagerly awaited implementation of ALDEP, the programme experienced problems from the start. BOPA visited some agricultural offices to identify the source of problems. The tender process is cited as the main cause of the delay in the implementation of ALDEP.

The District Agricultural Supervisor in Molepolole, Mr Seelo Modukanele, explains that formal tender by nature is a slow process.

The applicant submits application forms to the agricultural demonstrator who then passes them to the district agricultural office for approval.

He further says the district agricultural officer then waits for the tender committee to meet and approve or disqualify the applications, a process that takes some weeks or months.

Mr Modukanele notes that, some suppliers fail to provide their business licences as required while others price their materials beyond the government ceiling and this cause delays, as farmers are asked to look for cheaper suppliers through an informal tender. As a result, for three months the Department of Crop Production could not implement the programme as planned. On July 19, 2007 the department then requested the Public Procurement and Asset Disposal Board for a waiver to use informal tender for the procurement of ALDEP packages.
The first hand-over of animal draught power package (six donkeys) was issued to a Malotwana farmer in the Kgatleng District in June this year while another draught power package was handed over to farmers in Kumakwane in the Kweneng district on July 25, 2007, almost four months from the start of the programme.

Four donkeys were handed over to Mr Mompati Wabo, a Kumakwane resident, on behalf of her wife after she paid a contribution of P450. Altogether the four donkeys cost P1 500.

Mr Wabo says he is pleased, as his field was fenced under ALDEP II, adding that he is ready to for ploughing when the rains come.In theory, ALDEP III started in April 1, 2007 but few farmers have so far benefited despite the many applications submitted to district agricultural offices.
ALDEP III packages include; fencing material whereby households are assisted up to a maximum of P15 000 and they have to pay a contribution of 30 per cent.

Farmers can also get scotch carts and threshing machines at no more than P6 000 and P14 000 respectively. Other packages are chaff cutter at P12 000, mini silos at P3 500, canoe/paddle at P4 000, fertilizers for three hectares and a water catchments tank.

In the North West region where farmers qualify for canoes/paddles package as individuals or as a group, applications for this package have not yet been made.

In the South East District the district agricultural officer, Thabo Gabatshwane says out of 802 applications, 46 were for animal draught power - 39 cattle and 7 donkeys - have been approved and out of the 46 applicants 11 have paid the down payment.

An official at the Mochudi District Agricultural office says they received 433 applications out of which 244 have been approved, four rejected, 205 pending. Only applicants six have paid the required contribution.

A Bokaa resident, Mr Olebile Mokgoleke, attributes the delay in implementation of the programme to none payment of contributions, which he believes are prohibitive.

Mokgoleke says suppliers are expensive and as a result contributions are beyond the farmers reach. He notes that the contributions cannot be paid in instalments.

He thinks the reason why farmers are asked to find cheaper suppliers is because the government realised that cattle and implements are expensive and it wants to pass on the costs to farmers.

Mokgolekes observation is supported by the senior technical assistant at Bokaa, Ms Glanner Mautla who says to fence a 40 by 40 field costs approximately P17 000 while the government ceiling is P15 000.

She says in such a case, the farmer would be expected to contribute around P5 100, which is prohibitive to most small farmers.

It has also emerged that it is easier to buy donkeys as opposed to cattle because with the former the brand is the only thing needed to verify ownership of the livestock.

In the case of cattle the farmer needs cooperation of animal health officers to assist in verifying and changing the bolus as well as the brand.

The regional agricultural officer, Mr Modiri Mmofswa, concurs that the formal tender process delayed implementation of the programme, adding that the animal draught power has since been done through the informal tender process.

We have 2,235 applications and 66 have been approved for the animal draught power, says Mmofswa. All other packages are to be accessed through the formal tender process but all the agricultural district officers complain about the involved delay, which impact on the ministrys value of high quality service in a timely, effective and efficient manner. In the case of ALDEP III, it appears the ministry will have to work hard to achieve this. [MORE]

Botswana revives agric sector

Aug. 20 (UPI) -- The reintroduction of programmes such as ALDEP, which provides farmers with draught power, are geared to revive agriculture. By Edison Ramonkga GABORONE – Botswana, unlike other countries in the SADC region, is not blessed with all the ingredients to enable it to be self-sufficient in food production. Its land mass is mostly covered by desert. Also, HIV/AIDS is a big problem. Despite all this, there is still hope that the country can feed itself and moves are afoot to revive the local agriculture sector. During this years Parliamentary budget session in February, finance and development planning minister Baledzi Gaolathe announced several incentive schemes and subsidies for farmers designed to entice the youth to venture into farming and to rekindle the older generation’s interest in agriculture. Among these programmes is the reformulated Arable Land Development Programme (ALDEP) III, which focuses on strengthening the extension services, technology transfer and adoption, training and supporting previous and current beneficiaries of the programme to utilize packages acquired. The target group for the programme is the resource poor farmers whose farming efficiency is hampered by inadequate resources. Although the farmers eagerly awaited implementation of ALDEP, the programme experienced problems from the start. BOPA visited some agricultural offices to identify the source of problems. The tender process is cited as the main cause of the delay in the implementation of ALDEP. The District Agricultural Supervisor in Molepolole, Mr Seelo Modukanele, explains that “formal tender by nature is a slow process. The applicant submits application forms to the agricultural demonstrator who then passes them to the district agricultural office for approval.” He further says the district agricultural officer then waits for the tender committee to meet and approve or disqualify the applications, a process that takes some weeks or months. Mr Modukanele notes that, “some suppliers fail to provide their business licences as required while others price their materials beyond the government ceiling and this cause delays, as farmers are asked to look for cheaper suppliers through an informal tender.” As a result, for three months the Department of Crop Production could not implement the programme as planned. On July 19, 2007 the department then requested the Public Procurement and Asset Disposal Board for a waiver to use informal tender for the procurement of ALDEP packages. The first hand-over of animal draught power package (six donkeys) was issued to a Malotwana farmer in the Kgatleng District in June this year while another draught power package was handed over to farmers in Kumakwane in the Kweneng district on July 25, 2007, almost four months from the start of the programme. Four donkeys were handed over to Mr Mompati Wabo, a Kumakwane resident, on behalf of her wife after she paid a contribution of P450. Altogether the four donkeys cost P1 500. Mr Wabo says he is pleased, as his field was fenced under ALDEP II, adding that he is ready to for ploughing when the rains come. In theory, ALDEP III started in April 1, 2007 but few farmers have so far benefited despite the many applications submitted to district agricultural offices. ALDEP III packages include; fencing material whereby households are assisted up to a maximum of P15 000 and they have to pay a contribution of 30 per cent. Farmers can also get scotch carts and threshing machines at no more than P6 000 and P14 000 respectively. Other packages are chaff cutter at P12 000, mini silos at P3 500, canoe/paddle at P4 000, fertilizers for three hectares and a water catchments tank. In the North West region where farmers qualify for canoes/paddles package as individuals or as a group, applications for this package have not yet been made. In the South East District the district agricultural officer, Thabo Gabatshwane says out of 802 applications, 46 were for animal draught power - 39 cattle and 7 donkeys - have been approved and out of the 46 applicants 11 have paid the down payment. An official at the Mochudi District Agricultural office says they received 433 applications out of which 244 have been approved, four rejected, 205 pending. Only applicants six have paid the required contribution. A Bokaa resident, Mr Olebile Mokgoleke, attributes the delay in implementation of the programme to none payment of contributions, which he believes are prohibitive. Mokgoleke says suppliers are expensive and as a result contributions are beyond the farmers’ reach. He notes that the contributions cannot be paid in instalments. He thinks the reason why farmers are asked to find cheaper suppliers is because the government realised that cattle and implements are expensive and it wants to pass on the costs to farmers. Mokgoleke’s observation is supported by the senior technical assistant at Bokaa, Ms Glanner Mautla who says to fence a 40 by 40 field costs approximately P17 000 while the government ceiling is P15 000. She says in such a case, the farmer would be expected to contribute around P5 100, which is prohibitive to most small farmers. It has also emerged that it is easier to buy donkeys as opposed to cattle because with the former the brand is the only thing needed to verify ownership of the livestock. In the case of cattle the farmer needs cooperation of animal health officers to assist in verifying and changing the bolus as well as the brand. The regional agricultural officer, Mr Modiri Mmofswa, concurs that the formal tender process delayed implementation of the programme, adding that the animal draught power has since been done through the informal tender process. “We have 2,235 applications and 66 have been approved for the animal draught power,” says Mmofswa. All other packages are to be accessed through the formal tender process but all the agricultural district officers complain about the involved delay, which impact on the ministry’s value of “high quality service in a timely, effective and efficient manner.” In the case of ALDEP III, it appears the ministry will have to work hard to achieve this. [SOURCE]