Africa-Press – Botswana. Ministry of Agriculture leadership have been implored to play a part in the country’s transformation and ensure that Vision 2036 aspiration of a high income economy is achieved.
Addressing the ministry leadership retreat in Mahalapye on Tuesday, Minister of Agriculture, Mr Fidelis Molao said the senior officials should consider themselves important in moving the economy of the country forward.
“It is through agriculture that wealth will be generated, it is through agriculture that jobs will be generated, it is through agriculture that sustainable livelihoods will be attained,” he said.
He challenged them to come up with real and practical action items that were implementable and could be tracked throughout the year.
Minister Molao said the ministry was in the process of rebooting and resetting, emphasising that the latter should not just be theoretical but the ministry leadership should now be at a stage where they were asking themselves and finding quick answers on what they had reset.
Mr Molao emphasised responding to enquiries timeously.
He said 2023/24 had been an eventful year, noting ‘we saw the arrival of cattle from Texas, we had the launch of the long awaited Temo Letlotlo programme, a team of officers recently returned from Australia from buying more cattle breeds, reduction in Artificial Insemination training fees from P6 120 to P500 which is a welcome development’.
Mr Molao pleaded with the ministry leadership to think outside the box, be more proactive and to work as a team.
He said they should consider gender issues when developing policies, projects and programmes.
Ministry permanent secretary, Ms Nancy Chengeta said agriculture was a dynamic field, constantly evolving with technological advancements and changing global trends and also faced with challenges as climate change.
She implored them to keep abreast with the latest developments, in order for the ministry to remain at the forefront of innovation and best practices.
“We cannot achieve any of the above if we don’t plan properly and adhere to our plans, similarly not monitoring and evaluating our performance thereof,” she said.
She said the retreat would provide a dedicated space to engage in strategic planning and vision setting for the ministry, noting that they aimed to assess the current state of the agricultural sector, identify emerging challenges and opportunities, and chart a course for the future.
“By developing a clear and compelling vision, we can align our efforts and resources towards common objectives. It goes without saying that, building strong interpersonal relationships among team members is crucial for the success of any organisation,” said Ms Chengeta.
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