• REVITALISING OODI WEAVERSJuly 29, 2025
    RelatedPosts REVITALISING OODI WEAVERS HIV/ AIDS fight compromised?   Foreign reserves get depleted • Debswana, De Beers move to help • preserve cultural heritage DEBSWANA Diamond Company and De Beers Group have embarked on a collaborative initiative to support… Read more: REVITALISING OODI WEAVERS
  • HIV/ AIDS fight compromised?  July 29, 2025
    RelatedPosts REVITALISING OODI WEAVERS HIV/ AIDS fight compromised?   Foreign reserves get depleted   Monitoring in limbo due to CD4, viral reagents shortage CALISTUS BOSALETSWE editors@thepatriot.co.bw   Botswana was hit by a shortage of CD4 and viral screening reagents… Read more: HIV/ AIDS fight compromised?  
  • Foreign reserves get depletedJuly 28, 2025
    RelatedPosts REVITALISING OODI WEAVERS HIV/ AIDS fight compromised?   Foreign reserves get depleted Significant drop linked to decline in diamonds revenue Reserves went down by P0.9 billion as 31st May 2025 Govt forced to borrow more and more Ndaba… Read more: Foreign reserves get depleted
  • Pennywise Investments (Pty) LtdJuly 28, 2025
    RelatedPosts Pennywise Investments (Pty) Ltd Solace Pty Ltd – Farm Worker CHOPPIES – Distribution Center Manager
  • Solace Pty Ltd – Farm WorkerJuly 28, 2025
    RelatedPosts Pennywise Investments (Pty) Ltd Solace Pty Ltd – Farm Worker CHOPPIES – Distribution Center Manager
  • Home
  • News
  • Business
  • Lifestyle
  • Sport
  • Analysis & Opinions
  • Vacancies & Tenders
  • Login
  • Register
Saturday, August 2, 2025
17 °c
Gaborone
21 ° Tue
22 ° Wed
24 ° Thu
26 ° Fri
The Patriot On Sunday
Advertisement
  • Home
  • News
  • Business
  • Lifestyle
  • Sport
  • Analysis & Opinions
  • Vacancies & Tenders
No Result
View All Result
Cart / $0.00

No products in the cart.

  • Home
  • News
  • Business
  • Lifestyle
  • Sport
  • Analysis & Opinions
  • Vacancies & Tenders
No Result
View All Result
The Patriot On Sunday
No Result
View All Result
Home News

Farmers unhappy with Dikoloti

patriot by patriot
November 20, 2020
in News
242
0
491
SHARES
1.4k
VIEWS
ShareShareShare

Knives are out for youthful Minister of Agricultural Development and Food Security, Dr Edwin Dikoloti whom the unhappy local farmers accuse of neglecting them as stakeholders.

Also, Dikoloti’s colleague MPs cum farmers within Botswana Democratic Party (BDP) and from areas synonymous with pastoral farming swear to pile pressure on the minister and his deputy Beauty Manake, to wake up from a holiday they seem to be  enjoying to talk to farmers’ concerns.

RelatedPosts

HIV/ AIDS fight compromised?  

Cabinet hurts Speaker, MPs

BLLAHWU BLOCKED

The farmers who are now emerging limping from the heat of COVID-19 are not pleased with the leadership of Dr Dikoloti noting that the minister must come from a hiding rock and face farmers. Due to concerns over deteriorating agriculture sector, farmers could not spare their frustrations over the slow manner in which the ministry is reacting amidst COVID-19 devastation. The most affected are both large and small scale commercial farmers that depend on selling their produce both locally and regionally, whose profits are compromised by the burden of paying tax despite low returns.

Farmers demand that Dr Dikoloti- a Veterinary Surgeon by profession, whom they pinned their hope on as the right man for the job when appointed to cabinet, demand that he rises to the occasion or be relieved of his duties.

In interview, the spokesperson of Chobe Horticulture Growers Association, Solomon Tshenyo said they have expected that the ministry would have been keeping in touch with the farmers. According to Tshenyo, they were shocked when the high ranking official in the ministry, Kgotso Madisa – Chief Horticulture graced their council meeting on Wednesday to make presentations.

“The farmers have been affected by COVID-19 and in this tough times would expect to see the leadership particularly minister interacting with farmers. At the moment we are on own and we will be opening up Francistown market for the farmers in few a weeks,” Tshenyo underscored.

He buttressed that ever since the new dawn of ministry leadership was ushered in, as Chobe Horticulture Growers Association they have never found any weighty help from the ministers.

The farmers affiliated to Mosisedi Commercial Farmers Association in Southern District some of whom hail from Dikoloti’s Mmathethe-Molapowabojang constituency said the minister is missing in action. One prominent farmer who was also one of the vocal critics of former Minister Patrick Ralotsia said as farmers they expected that the new minister will actively engage farmers countrywide.

 “Mosisedi farmers association is one of local strategic agriculture stakeholders when it comes to cereal production in relation to food security. The farmers have been affected by the COVID-19. As worried farmers who hail from Mmathethe we remain clueless over present ministers’ direction for farmers owing to unsolved issues that are still existing,” said the veteran farmer.

Some of the master farmers MPs within BDP have also expressed a discontent on the youthful ministerial headship and the MPs are in full force to take minister to task in next parley session.

In an interview, one BDP backbencher MP who preferred anonymity said farmers in his rich pastoral farming constituency are complaining over lack of resolving beef liberalization issues.

The discontented legislator said the previous agriculture ministers fell out favor with farmers by not displaying esteemed seriousness whilst reacting to repeated concerns raised by farmers.

“As an MP and a farmer I cannot write anything positive about the minister and his assistant owing to contributing with substance in parliament issues affecting farmers. The minister is just rubbing shoulders only with well known farmers as I see on news this week,” said worried MP.

In addition, another MP who was vocal criticizing the agriculture’s ministerial budget proposals for lacking clear targets during budget debates in parliament prior says minister has to deliver.

He said the budget that is allocated to the ministry over the years has been reduced but points out that agriculture sector needs to be fully funded if government wants to create more jobs.

“Farmers are crying that COVID-19 has disrupted their businesses and they have no support. It is up to the minister to ensure proper execution of proposals for the sector as contained in the Economic Recovery and Transformation Plan and he needs farmers to achieve such,” he said.

Government in its economic recovery plans maintain that raising the productivity of agriculture is essential and potentially a source of “quick wins” including enhancing domestic self-sufficiency, improving balance of payment, job creation among others to mention a few. “However, it says care has to be taken not to repeat past mistakes whereby the substantial resources and support that have been provided for agriculture have largely been wasted.

“Performance has been measured in terms of inputs rather than output, and there has been no significant improvement in productivity in key target sub-sectors such as beef and food grains. Also, proposed interventions need to be assessed to evaluate their commercial feasibility; they are included here subject to confirmation that their benefits exceed their costs,” reads a draft.

Efforts to get Dikoloti for comment proved futile as his mobile was off at time of going to print

Related

Tags: dikolotiFARMERS

Get real time update about this post categories directly on your device, subscribe now.

Unsubscribe
Previous Post

Batlokwa rope in Boko

Next Post

Experts weigh in on recovery plan

Related Posts

HIV/ AIDS fight compromised?  
News

HIV/ AIDS fight compromised?  

July 29, 2025
Cabinet hurts Speaker, MPs
News

Cabinet hurts Speaker, MPs

July 28, 2025
BLLAHWU BLOCKED
News

BLLAHWU BLOCKED

July 23, 2025
UDC govt on edge
News

UDC govt on edge

July 22, 2025
KwDC P13 million scandal
News

KwDC P13 million scandal

July 21, 2025
I’M NOT ASKING FOR CHANGE . I’M DEMANDING IT – BOKO
News

I’M NOT ASKING FOR CHANGE . I’M DEMANDING IT – BOKO

July 18, 2025
Next Post
Experts weigh in on recovery plan

Experts weigh in on recovery plan

Please login to join discussion
  • REVITALISING OODI WEAVERSJuly 29, 2025
    RelatedPosts REVITALISING OODI WEAVERS HIV/ AIDS fight compromised?   Foreign reserves get depleted • Debswana, De Beers move to help • preserve cultural heritage DEBSWANA Diamond Company and De Beers Group have embarked on a collaborative initiative to support… Read more: REVITALISING OODI WEAVERS
  • HIV/ AIDS fight compromised?  July 29, 2025
    RelatedPosts REVITALISING OODI WEAVERS HIV/ AIDS fight compromised?   Foreign reserves get depleted   Monitoring in limbo due to CD4, viral reagents shortage CALISTUS BOSALETSWE editors@thepatriot.co.bw   Botswana was hit by a shortage of CD4 and viral screening reagents… Read more: HIV/ AIDS fight compromised?  
  • Foreign reserves get depletedJuly 28, 2025
    RelatedPosts REVITALISING OODI WEAVERS HIV/ AIDS fight compromised?   Foreign reserves get depleted Significant drop linked to decline in diamonds revenue Reserves went down by P0.9 billion as 31st May 2025 Govt forced to borrow more and more Ndaba… Read more: Foreign reserves get depleted
  • Pennywise Investments (Pty) LtdJuly 28, 2025
    RelatedPosts Pennywise Investments (Pty) Ltd Solace Pty Ltd – Farm Worker CHOPPIES – Distribution Center Manager
  • Solace Pty Ltd – Farm WorkerJuly 28, 2025
    RelatedPosts Pennywise Investments (Pty) Ltd Solace Pty Ltd – Farm Worker CHOPPIES – Distribution Center Manager
The Patriot On Sunday

© 2024 Copyright The Patriot On Sunday - Inspired by Search Mart.

Navigate Site

  • About Us
  • Advertise
  • Disclaimer
  • Contact Us

Follow Us

Welcome Back!

Login to your account below

Forgotten Password? Sign Up

Create New Account!

Fill the forms bellow to register

All fields are required. Log In

Retrieve your password

Please enter your username or email address to reset your password.

Log In
No Result
View All Result
  • Login
  • Sign Up
  • Cart
  • Home
  • News
  • Business
  • Lifestyle
  • Sport
  • Analysis & Opinions
  • Vacancies & Tenders

© 2024 Copyright The Patriot On Sunday - Inspired by Search Mart.

This website uses cookies. By continuing to use this website you are giving consent to cookies being used. Visit our Privacy and Cookie Policy.
Are you sure want to unlock this post?
Unlock left : 0
Are you sure want to cancel subscription?