ITS BACK TO PLOUGHING - Ministry of Agriculture

Fear of losing job inspiresArticle: France BegenselPhotos: Mothusi Tlale“Would I have known life inagricultural production, especiallyhorticulture was this rewarding; Iwould have started a long time ago.”These are the words of a man whospent 18 years as a service man in theOrapa diamond mine.Goitsemang Salang, 41, says thathe cannot entertain the fact that heearned about P2000 a month atthe mine. Beaming with a smile, heproudly discloses that he gets aboutP13 000 after expenses from thevegetable proceeds.For him, it all started withuncertainties at the mine, when someemployees were fired because of the2004 strike. Many of his colleagueslost their jobs and some had not doneanything (investments) to fall back on,he reveals.“I was afraid that this might befallme in future and I would not haveanything to show for the time I spentat the mine.” He discloses that hestarted exploring ways in which hewould be able to bring food on thetable after the mine life.Salang was inspired to follow in thefootsteps of his father who is also avegetable grower.To realise the dream, he hadacquired a five hectare farm atGoloshaba lands, east of Tonotaalong the banks of the Shashe River.He started growing vegetables ofall sorts, but this time around it wasunder the care and management ofhis wife, as he was still engaged atthe diamond mine.Prior to this he acquired water rightsfrom the Department o fWater Affairs to allowhim to use water fromthe river for irrigation.As productionin inthe farm grew, Salangrealized he needed moreland to produce on alarge scale. He wentback to the land board toacquire more land, whichthey extended by six morehectares.Unlike many others,the former Debswanaemployee startedproduction with his ownsavings. He is quickSALANGto point out that the government will not be able to repay within theassisted in providing electricity. stipulated period.“Through our farmers association; Salang reveals that prior toLemelang Batswana, we managed to electricity installation; he used anconvince the government about the engine/generator to pump waterimportance of electricity in the areas from the river. He says this was aof production.”very problematic exercise because ofSalang adds that as members they regular breakdowns of the generatorstarted with P100 contributions each The other problem was the costwhich they later increased to P3000 of fuel which they have to buy fromto have electricity reticulated to the Francistown, a long distance away.farms.“I spent about P6000 on dieselDespite Salang’s aspirations to every month but today the cost hasexpand his farm further, he has no dropped to around P1500 monthly.intention of getting a loan from the Moreover, the rate of productionCitizen Entrepreneurial Development has increased tremendously becauseAgency (CEDA) as that would amount with electricity the only limit is you.”to unnecessary liabilities.Since starting production in AugustHis concern is that due to 2005, Salang has never looked back.undesirable elements, such as natural He says that he manages the farmdisasters; frost and floods one stands and he regards himself as one of theto lose a lot, especially if one has no employees. He decries the lack ofinsurance cover for the produce. farm workers in the area citing lackHe says this would leave one in of interest from Batswana youth.a situationHe adds that such youth only workwhere onefor a month and disappear aftergetting paid. Salang discloses, he hasa total of seven employees.Although production rose in thepast few months, Salang says thereare challenges associated withvegetable production. He says inwinter, frost is a constant sourceof concern as it kills his crops.He laments that the BagradaBug and the Stockborer attackhis cabbages and m a i z eTo page 4...November 2010