Africa-Press – Botswana. Farmers in Botswana have been challenged to embrace technology and modern-day farming methods to boost productivity, as well as to make the southern African country food secure.
Botswana’s Minister of Agriculture Fidelis Molao on Wednesday said the solution to challenges facing agriculture ranging from shrinking land size to climate change lay in the adoption of modern farming trends.
“The importance of digitizing agriculture and improving the general productivity, have also been re-emphasized during the COVID-19 pandemic,” said Molao while addressing a workshop for horticulture farmers in Francistown, Botswana’s second-largest city.
Molao said the COVID-19 pandemic exposed some of the weak areas in the food production and supply chain on the African continent and particularly in Botswana, adding that this lesson calls for farmers to adapt to technology and new methodologies to produce food to feed the nation and even export to other countries.
He said the use of information and communications technology can go a long way in facilitating extension officers to service remote areas with, among other things, information on market intelligence, operational guidance and demonstrations on production processes at less cost and more efficiently.
It is incumbent upon farmers to find and learn innovative ways to improve production, especially for basic food needs, he said.
According to Molao, the unprecedented hikes in food prices have caused uncertainty in global food security, and in turn, escalated Botswana’s food import bill which is currently in excess of 615 million U.S. dollars per annum.
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