Lum ase - Ministry of Agriculture

Public- Private Sector Partnership VitalArticle: Epena NgatanguePhotos: Gabatsoswe MogapiContemporary leaders haverealised that governments cannotsolve challenges emanating fromdevelopment with a government-centricapproach. Collaborative endeavourbetween the government and theprivate sector creates a good platformfor sustainability of developmentprogrammes.Through jointly defined objectives,government and private sectorpartnership will go a long way increating a conducive environment fordevelopment. It is along this modelthat the forum of the AgriculturalSector Committee of the High LevelConsultative Council (HLCC) operates.The forum is meant to accord theprivate sector an opportunity tocontribute in the agricultural policyformulation and implementation forthe development of the sector. Theforum brings together key players inthe agricultural sector to map the wayforward for the sector.In a recent meeting the Minister ofAgriculture Mr Christiaan De Graaffconvened he encouraged members ofthe forum to actively participate in thedeliberations and assist the ministry inmapping the way forward for advancingthe improvement of the sector.He told the gathering that theagriculture sector has shown a substantialincrease of 40.3 percent, which he said“leaves us as role players in the sectorwith a big challenge to strive harder inorder to achieve more in agriculturalproduction.”Minister De Graaff urged them to reflecton the sector’s major achievements andchallenges of the past year and forgeahead.He cited the closure of the BotswanaMeat Commission (BMC), outbreaks ofFoot and Mouth Disease (FMD) andLumpy skin as some of the challengesfaced by the ministry.On a positive note, the Minister toldthe forum that the Mmadinare/Bobirwaarea (Zone 7) has been declared FMDfree without vaccination by the WorldOrganization for Animal Health. TheMinistry is currently negotiating withtrading partners, notably the EuropeanUnion and South Africa to start acceptingbeef originating from Zone 7.De Graaff further announced thatthere has been no case of FMD inNgamiland since November 2009.On arable farming, the Minister saidsince inception of ISPAAD, farmers’participation has increased by 11percent over two seasons in 2008/2009and 2009/2010, whilst the area plantedhas increased by almost three folds.The introduction of HorticultureDevelopment Programme under ISPAADis another milestone in the diversificationof the agricultural production base. “Thiswould create employment opportunities,improve the nutritional status of thenation and alleviate poverty.”The forum further heard that the reviewMinister De Graaf and Chimbombiof the National Policy on AgriculturalDevelopment has started and progressingwell and the ministry will embark onan intensive stakeholder consultationprocess to ensure that all players have aninput in the development of the sector’spolicy and associated strategies.All in all this is to say that it wouldtake the whole team, stakeholders aliketo take the agricultural sector to higherlevels.5March 2011