{"id":82747,"date":"2026-04-04T11:06:27","date_gmt":"2026-04-04T11:06:27","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/botswana\/all-news\/mps-advocate-food-sovereignty"},"modified":"2026-04-04T11:06:27","modified_gmt":"2026-04-04T11:06:27","slug":"mps-advocate-food-sovereignty","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/botswana\/all-news\/mps-advocate-food-sovereignty","title":{"rendered":"Mps Advocate Food Sovereignty"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><span class=\"ap-article-header-tag\">           <strong>Africa-Press &#8211; Botswana. <\/strong>         <\/span><b>Legislators have called for a shift in the nation\u2019s agricultural strategy to transition from simple food security to total food sovereignty. <\/b><\/p>\n<p>Contributing to the debate on the National Agricultural Policy recently, they argued that true economic independence relied on local control of food systems, climate-smart technology and the urgent reduction of the country\u2019s high food import bill.<\/p>\n<p>Kgatleng East MP, Mr Mabuse Pule, argued that transitioning from a status of food security to food sovereignty would promote the right of local people to control their own food systems, including markets, ecological resources, food cultures and production modes. Mr Pule said he was pleased to see that the previous government had done the groundwork in laying a solid foundation toward food sovereignty.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe previous government had programmes in place such as Temo Letlotlo and others, that went beyond traditional farming paradigms.<\/p>\n<p>These were destined to improve food security by championing crop diversification and the use of climate-smart technologies to ensure resilience against climate uncertainties,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n<p>He explained that the programme was a productivity-output-based agro-ecological reward system designed to improve food security in Botswana. Consequently, he argued, the onus was now on the current government to ensure that policies were in place to safeguard the country\u2019s agricultural products.<\/p>\n<p>He also urged government to remain steadfast in promoting sustainable food sovereignty to reduce the high food import bill.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe bulk of the import bill comes from commodities, indicating an urgent need for value addition through the establishment of processing centers.<\/p>\n<p>Many of these commodities are \u2018low-hanging fruit\u2019 whose production can be increased within a short period,\u201d he added. Supporting the policy, Shoshong MP, Mr Moneedi Bagaisamang highlighted that agricultural productivity was envisaged to diversify Botswana\u2019s economy. He noted that the sector had the potential to contribute to the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) through creation of quality employment, building a middle-class economy, wealth creation and value chain development as well as building resilient rural economies.<\/p>\n<p>He added that the grain production subsector required a transformation strategy involving technology adoption, improved production systems, enhanced infrastructure and creation of commercial industries along the value chain. Maun West MP, Mr Caterpillar Hikuama decried the rising cases of human-wildlife conflict in the Ngamiland area, which he attributed to the poor maintenance of the veterinary cordon fence.<\/p>\n<p>To address this, Mr Hikuama suggested that the Ministry of Lands and Agriculture should consult with the Ministry of Environment and Tourism to include problematic wild animals in community trust hunting quotas.<\/p>\n<p>Furthermore, he pleaded with government to empower the youth in his constituency by creating opportunities in agribusiness enterprises and fostering linkages with the private sector and development agencies.<\/p>\n<p>Specially Elected MP, Major General Pius Mokgware emphasised the importance of including the establishment of water banks along the country\u2019s major rivers. He noted that such banks would help manage scarcity by storing surplus water and act as a savings account to ensure a reliable supply during dry years.<\/p>\n<p class=\"ap-article-footer-note\">           Find more news and analyses on           <span class=\"ap-highlight-country\">Botswana<\/span>           on the           <span class=\"ap-highlight-brand\">Africa Press<\/span>           website         <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Africa-Press &#8211; Botswana. Legislators have called for a shift in the nation\u2019s agricultural strategy to transition from simple food security to total food sovereignty. Contributing to the debate on the National Agricultural Policy recently, they argued that true economic independence relied on local control of food systems, climate-smart technology and the urgent reduction of the [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":84,"featured_media":82746,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2,12],"tags":[234],"class_list":["post-82747","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-all-news","category-policy","tag-botswana"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO Premium plugin v26.1 (Yoast SEO v27.0) - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-premium-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>Mps Advocate Food Sovereignty - Botswana<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/botswana\/all-news\/mps-advocate-food-sovereignty\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Mps Advocate Food Sovereignty\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Africa-Press &#8211; Botswana. Legislators have called for a shift in the nation\u2019s agricultural strategy to transition from simple food security to total food sovereignty. Contributing to the debate on the National Agricultural Policy recently, they argued that true economic independence relied on local control of food systems, climate-smart technology and the urgent reduction of the [&hellip;]\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/botswana\/all-news\/mps-advocate-food-sovereignty\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Botswana\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/AfricaPressTunisiaa\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2026-04-04T11:06:27+00:00\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"cfeditoren\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"cfeditoren\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"3 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/botswana\/all-news\/mps-advocate-food-sovereignty#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/botswana\/all-news\/mps-advocate-food-sovereignty\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"cfeditoren\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/botswana\/#\/schema\/person\/068c7ab4e9634ae78ec5d54ec46598bb\"},\"headline\":\"Mps Advocate Food Sovereignty\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-04-04T11:06:27+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/botswana\/all-news\/mps-advocate-food-sovereignty\"},\"wordCount\":512,\"commentCount\":0,\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/botswana\/all-news\/mps-advocate-food-sovereignty#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/static.africa-press.net\/botswana\/sites\/38\/2026\/04\/sm_1775304766.365538.jpg\",\"keywords\":[\"Botswana\"],\"articleSection\":[\"all news\",\"policy\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/botswana\/all-news\/mps-advocate-food-sovereignty#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/botswana\/all-news\/mps-advocate-food-sovereignty\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/botswana\/all-news\/mps-advocate-food-sovereignty\",\"name\":\"Mps Advocate Food Sovereignty - 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