ITS BACK TO PLOUGHING - Ministry of Agriculture

Assistant Minister urges Youthparticipation in AgricultureArticle: Kedidimetse MpolokengPhotos: Gabatsoswe MogapiAssistant Minister of Agriculture, MrOreeditse Sola Molebatsi has urged allstakeholders to join hands in ensuringyouth participation and development inagriculture.Speaking at the official opening of theWorld Bank Group workshop held inGaborone recently, he explained that thiswill go a long way in improving agriculturalproductivity in the long term and in asustained way.“This aspect is also important inregenerating the ageing population.Therefore, the youth need a supportingmechanism and a welcoming atmosphere inthis sector.”He stated that the youth should beinspired and motivated to venture intoagriculture, adding that in Botswana severalinitiatives have been put in place to aid thisdevelopment.“We have introduced the Young FarmersFund which is just a loan credit system foryoung people who want to start businessesin the sector which has resulted in increasedparticipation of young people in theagriculture sector.” He further highlightedthat in consideration of opportunities forinvestment in agriculture such as allocationof farms, youth are also given particularconsideration to ensure that they are not leftout.Molebatsi went on to say they are alsocontinuing to seek appropriate attachmentCheryl Grayopportunities in established businesses foryouth to benefit from exposure that willenable success of their agricultural projects.“A vibrant agriculture s e c t o rwill not onlyreduce poverty butalso diversify ourcountry’s economicbase. We need topursue agriculturalpolicies that will helpus take full advantageof recent developments in science andtechnology to spur our agricultural growth.”Furthermore, he asserted that agriculturaldevelopment remains central to growth andpoverty reduction throughout Africa, wherea large share of the population relies on thesector for basic livelihood.“In the Southern African DevelopmentCommunity (SADC) region, the sector notonly provides an important source of incomeand employment but also provides a largepart of export earnings.“Increasing agriculture productivity willalso not only meet the food security needsbut will also contribute significantly to thedevelopment of our countries.”He noted that while most SADC countriesare well endowed with natural resources,these have not been utilized to their fullpotential and in a sustainable manner.Consequently, he said agriculturalproductivity, particularly amongsmall scale farmers, hasbeen below potential andthe regional food securitysituation remained unstable.In addition, he saidfactors such as poor accessto agricultural markets, lowtechnology developmentand inadequatepreparations for naturaldisasters have beenthe major handicap toimproved agriculturalproduction.“However, I am pleasedto note that lately there hasbeen increased attention to the agriculturalsector in the region by donors and this is awelcome development,” he said.Further, Cheryl Gray of IndependentEvaluation Group-World Bank Groupadvised African nations to view agricultureas a business and not a safety net as somepeople tend to do.She noted that farming needs to be anattractive proposition. “Agriculture is abusiness and not a safety net. We should getpeople motivated and empowered. Let thembe able to create opportunities to createwealth and thereby reduce poverty as wellas address the urban/rural divide.”Summarizing events of the two dayworkshop, Gray noted that the workshop wasvery interactive and a lot has been realizednoting that among other things they haverealized that a lot matters for agriculturalgrowth.She said capacity building and governanceby both the public, private and NGOs isone important factor in agricultural growth,as well as access to markets, infrastructure,institutions and information and also policiesand policy making institutions.She further explained that regionallinkages would also be very helpful as wellas livestock and crop links.November 2010 16