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THE SECRET BEHIND THE PANDAMATENGA SUCCESS Article: Keamogetse Boitshepo Improved technology in use in Pandamatenga ” Botswana Food Basket” like is commonly referred to lay stretched 50 000 hectares about 900 kilometers north of Gaborone in a fertile black cotton soil of Chobe. Pandamatenga commercial farms prove annually to have the potential to pioneer commercial farming in Botswana. In only 12% of the hectares planted in Botswana, Pandamatenga commercial farms produce about 90% of the locally produced cereal grain. In 2010/11 planting season, the farmers planted 22 000 hectares and produced 43 000 tonnes of cereal grain. That means on average Pandamatenga commercial farms produce 2.5 tonnes per hectare. Most arable farmers cry foul over lack of rains and prevalent weeds and pests producing on average 200kg of cereal grains per hectare. The big questions is; what is Pandamatenga commercial farmers doing different? Agrinews had an exclusive interview with Mr Tienie Kruger, the chairperson of the Pandamatenga Commercial Farmers Association (P.C.F.A). Kruger explains that just like Rome was not built in one day, Pandamatenga as well took years of hard work to build. He reminisces of the time the farms were nearly closed due to frequent floods that affected farming processes resulting in the farms operating at a loss. At the time, he said government established a commission which resulted in government investing millions of pula on drainage work and access roads. He credits the then President Festus Mogae and Minister of Agriculture Jonny Swartz as pioneers of the change in Pandamatenga. “What you see today is the expansion of Panda farms and drainage system being put in place. Additional land of 22 000 hectares was initiated by this two people and an investment of P400 million was made available to support farmers.” Kruger was quick to give the farmers credit for their perseverance, which somewhat inspired the government to take action. He, however, could not over emphasize the importance of government involvement in farming and cooperating with farmers. According to Kruger, government assistance did not swipe away all their challenges as by then they were struggling to understand the black cotton soil. With time and improvement of equipment and chemicals he said they discovered better ways of planting the area. Out of that, two schools of thoughts were born, the old and the new but all practice precision planting. The old school which Kruger also subscribes to include harrowing or disking of field; that is doing various processes of preparing the seed bed before planting. The new school of thought does minimum tillage and is more chemical based as opposed to ploughing and preserving the soil. He, however, said both schools ascribe to improved crop population, seed depth and other processes that July 2012 4
Kruger avoid compaction to enhance their yield. “When you drive around you will find little roads that are used year after year when plowing, planting and applying fertilizers. As such avoid soil compaction on the whole field by tractor wheels.” Whilst the farms are known to produce mainly sorghum, there is a shift to include beans and sun flower. Kruger explains that it is due to rotational planting which is inevitable in arable farming. He said beans for instance are taken to be rotational crops because they provide the soil with nitrogen. The use of improved technologies which include heavy machinery, improved seeds and fertilizers have grown to be an integral part of Pandamatenga culture. According to Kruger, farming is commercial in Pandamatenga and treated as such. Therefore, farmers stop at nothing to maximum yield in their farms. “We have good relations with chemical companies who test our soil samples to determine a suitable fertilizer. We also have relations with seed producing companies who recommend improved seeds that improve our yield. We go to the extent of buying seeds as far as Australia.” A network of investor relations who offer services, supply inputs and advice on their expertise are of paramount importance in Pandamatenga. Kruger revealed that such partnerships train and make periodic strategic assessment on the use of their products. Kruger also emphasized the importance of financial advisers in farming since it is a risky business. Taking into consideration that they make a lump sum ones a year, financial management is vital. He said a budget for the next planting season and wage bill for unproductive months needs to be taken into consideration. Further, he said insurance is a touchy topic for farmers because whilst is of utmost importance it is still a matter on the table. He, however, said for their sort of farming one has to make arrangements with various institutions to cater for difficult times. In the year 2019, with the completion of the north water pipeline, farmers in Pandamatenga will have a better chance of pumping water from the Zambezi River, hence practice irrigation. Kruger said then Pandamatenga commercial farms will be a real “food basket” because they will be able to harvest twice a year hence double their produce. APOLOGY On our June issue, Page 7 on the story headlined “ Cluster Fencing to enhance Production in Mookane” we erroneously reported that LIMID programme has a cluster fencing package. The correct version is that ISPAAD (Integrated Support Programme for Arable Development) is the one with the Cluster fencing c o m p o n e n t . We r e g r e t t h e inconvinience. Thank you Editor 5 July 2012
Page 1 and 2: Volume 42, No. 07 July 2012 GHANZI
Page 3 and 4: NATIONAL AGRICULTURAL SHOW "Transfo
Page 5 and 6: VISION FOUNDATION PILLARS editor’
Page 7: After years of stumbling along in t
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Page 13 and 14: 2 1 Ghanzi Show 1. Delegates at Gha
Page 15 and 16: Article: Segomotso Basuti Photos: A
Page 17 and 18: NATIONAL FRUIT TREE NURSERY GROWS B
Page 19 and 20: Kruger,Mokalake, Kgosi Baniki and M
Page 21 and 22: Versions Of Progress I love agricul
Page 23 and 24: Teasers Compiled By Segomotso Basut

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