Africa-Press – Botswana. Batswana’s tradition of multiple settlement practice is a major cause of agricultural decline, Lentsweletau/Lephephe MP, Mr Tshenolo Bogatsu has said.
Speaking during the Jay Jay Agribusiness and Seminar held at Thukuru Farms in Lentsweletau on August 9, he said the tradition of having multi-settlement system led to the downfall of local agricultural production.
“The problem of Batswana is the system of living across three places; a permanent house in the village, and seasonally traversing between cattle post and ploughing fields. Live in the farm so that there is continuity, such that what a farmer practice every day is passed to children because they will grow into a farming environment,” he said.
Mr Bogatsu added that farming was not a retirement activity, as it demanded hard working hence energy-demanding event.
Speaking to the theme: Cultivating Success-Agri Entrepreneurship, Mr Bogatsu said it meant that one could use agriculture to improve their livelihoods through commercialised farming.
“Let us make agriculture attractive knowing that in the end it generates income,” he said.
He described the seminar as a platform to share and brainstorm agri-business ideas from both angles; from farmers and experts’ views, to give light to the youth on how agriculture could generate income to sustain lives.
Mr Bogatsu said that everyone in the society was part of the agricultural world in the sense that all played a role along the lines, actively and passively.
He said some were at the production level, service providers, and retailers whilst some were consumers.
He condemned some Batswana’s failure to take advantage of agriculture, but opting to remain as consumers.
He was concerned that Batswana seemed unfazed being labelled a consuming nation, adding that such was a reason why most people’s life were not improving because they worked to spend on food and not to produce food.
Mr Bogatsu said farmers should not export raw products, but should engage in value chain development, by farming and selling finished products to derive more monies from their produce.
He said they should have the power to control the market and not give room for buyers to overpower them.
He encouraged farmers to setup a market for local produce, ensuring that monies circulated within the local market, adding that jobs created through agriculture would relieve people from poverty and famine.
“We are poor because we neglected agriculture for too long. You cannot say you have food security if you are still importing everything,” said Mr Bogatsu.
He said an old approach of depicting agriculture as a dirty job, associated with lower wages was amongst the reasons why the industry was seemingly experiencing decline.
He gave an example of farmers who hired farm workers as peasants and not as decent workers.
Further, Mr Bogatsu advised youth to change their mind-sets and choose agriculture-related courses, for the time was now to see farming as a substitute to the struggling diamond market that used to be an economic anchor in the past.
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