Agrinews December 2012 - Ministry of Agriculture

VISIONAttain national food securityand global competitivenessin agricultural productsMISSIONTo improve agricultural productivitythrough technology developmentand transfer, diversification andcommercialization, inorder to promote food security inpartnership with our stakeholders.VALUESFOUNDATIONPILLARS1. BOTHOWe treat our customers ina respectable and caring manner.2. TEAM WORKWe recognize the need to work asa team characterized by collectiveeffort, trust, understanding,support and perseveranceirrespective of rank or gender.3. CUSTOMER FOCUSEDOur customers are the focusof everything we do by beingcourteous, caring, compassionate,tolerant and empathetic.4. INNOVATIVEWe commit to employ new ideasand being proactive in order tomatch the requirements of thefuture.HOPE FOR A BETTER YEARWe all agree that theagricultural sector, especiallythe beef sector, was in IntensiveCare Unit (ICU) during 2012.The closure of the BotswanaMeat Commission (BMC) in2011 due to Foot and MouthDisease in Zone 6 and 7coupled with poor rainfall hashad an adverse impact on thesector.Poor rainfall resultedin erosion of pastures insome areas, the problemcompounded by overstockingdue to lack of lucrative beefmarkets. Lack of sales led toamongst others, a drop in beefprices in Botswana. As supplybecame abundant the beefprices drastically dropped. Thisis how the year 2012 can besummed up.However, humanity hasnever despaired as hope iswhat we all have. Perhaps, thatis why God came up with theconcept of life after death. Webelieve it is so and continueto live. God gave man hope,and it is through it that all andeditor’s notesundry must live into the NewYear.It will be unfortunate if we wereto welcome the New Year withouthope. Hope that it will rain asforecasted by MeteorologicalServices. Hope that this country,will definitely secure an everlastinglucrative beef market. For aceaseless market will definitelygrow the beef sector.The new year should give us hopeto enable us feed this country. Letus all in the agricultural sectorlive hope and believe in ourselvesthat it can be done. Problems willalways be there even in 2013 andbeyond, but the desire to succeedshould be the driving force.Hope that 2013 will definitely bea good year devoid of drought andany other natural disasters. It is thishope that I wish all of us to usherin 2013. It is because of hope thatwe are tempted to say “ngwaga o osa nthateng kgabaganya…”. Let ustake stock, tighten the screws andsurge forward into 2013.Agrinews would like to wishyou a Merry Christmas and aprosperous New Year.5. INTEGRITYWe foster a culture of transparency,accountability and dependability.1December 2012