Agrinews February 2013 - Ministry of Agriculture

Theruthlessnessoftilling the soil with fuelArticle & Photos: Joseph RamodisaAgribusiness is completelydependent on fuel. With theexception of miniature farmsthat can be operated by hand orwith the help of donkeys, this isas true for small farms as it is forlarge ones, because virtually allcommercial farms use tractorsand fuel-derived fertilizers andpesticides.Therefore, in addition to beingbeholden to the weather, farmersanswer to the consequences ofthe global fuel price.If petroleum prices spiral out ofcontrol, small farmers will befacing very serious challenges tomaintain food production and tosupport themselves.As a result it hampers effortsby the Government to improvefood security through the use ofISPAAD program because tractorowners feel that P400/ha paid tothem is not enough to cater forthe ever increasing fuel prices.“Now we are compelled to chargean upfront P200/ha of which thefarmers have to pay before thetractor tills the land, one tractorowner Evan Ntlhanogelang fromXhumo village in Boteti confirms.Evan, who described the businessas unprofitable said, what makesit worse is the fact that they hirethe tractor operators who at theend of the day need to be paid. Asa result they as tractor owners areleft with nothing as fuel will takeall the money.The unprofitability of the business,Evan also attributed it to smallfarms they plough in the areawhich are also far apart and notdestumped. She said operating inthose fields consume a lot of timeand fuel which is expensive totractor owners.Evan said as result of this, farmershave to pay for the fuel for theirfields to be tilled. She remindedfarmers to destump their fieldsto easy the tractor operation forthem to cover more hectares ina short period of time so they atleast make little profit.This is a serious challenge to smallfarmers who cannot afford thatP200/ha and it has the possibilityto reduce the total number ofhectares planted as compared tolast season as some farmers areopting to plant less hectares inorder to be able to sow seeds inthe fields.A dry land farmer from Xhumovillage Balothaganye Lekgokowho has been affect by the AfricanArmy Worm, said she wantedto plant again but with lack ofmoney to pay tractors owners shecannot make it.Though the government promisesthose who have been affectedby the outbreak of African ArmyWorm with free seeds, Lekgokosaid she can only manage ahectare out of about six hectaresthat she has the potential toplough. She cannot afford theP200/ha that is needed from themby tractor owners.Besides affecting the number ofhectares to be planted this issuecan also seriously affect the cropyields during harvesting timesince tractor owners do not wantto row plant, an agronomicalpractice highly recommendedFebruary 2013