Africa-Press – Botswana. Residents of Gopong have been urged to position themselves to tap into opportunities found within the agricultural sector.
Addressing the residents on August 18, Good Hope/Mmathethe Member of Parliament, Dr Edwin Dikoloti encouraged them to seek for water sources to drive agricultural production in the area so as to draw maximum benefits from the sector.
Dr Dikoloti, who is also acting Minister of Lands and Agriculture, said the availability of water for agricultural production was vital as it could help ensure sustainable means of livelihood for residents, which would extend even beyond producing for domestic consumption.
“Wherever possibilities of getting water are, efforts should be made to utilise them by drilling boreholes and building dams,” he said, emphasising that water for production purposes could help drive self-sustenance as well as alleviate unemployment.
He said as the nation was preparing to get into industrial hemp production, residents of Gopong should ready themselves to delve into the sub-sector once production was permitted and rolled out.
The acting minister also implored residents to fully utilise their land, describing it as a valuable gift with the potential to turn around their fortunes
The Good Hope/Mmathethe legislator cited the Mmadinare Cooperative Society, saying it had prudently used its land by leasing it out for citrus fruits production, thereby making it one of the richest societies in Botswana.
He therefore urged Gopong residents to consider following the same route with regards their own land.
In addition, Dr Dikoloti said the Gopong area had the most versatile cactus specie in the country, and he encouraged them to explore how best they could maximise on its availability in their locality.
In the bid to cultivate and encourage the spirit of self-sustenance, the MP gifted residents with potato shoots for them to grow at their homes.
He said potato production had been identified as a potential money spinner, hence residents must use growing the shoots as a platform of learning the basics of potato production so that they could scale up production in future and also stand a better chance to benefit from any government support that could become available in future.
Gopong deputy chief, Mr Moatlhodi Kgwakgwe expressed gratitude for Dr Dikoloti’s efforts aimed at encouraging the evolution of agriculture in the area.
Kgosi Moatlhodi said Dr Dikoloti’s acts of availing certified maize seeds and distributing fruit trees to people in the constituency spoke to his commitment to seeing agriculture once again become one of the main sources of livelihood in the area.
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