Mookane and Shoshong residents doubt NAMPAADD success (05 August, 2003)

Mookane and Shoshong residents are pessimistic about the success of National Master Plan on Arable Agriculture and Dairy Development (NAMPAADD).
Residents expressed doubt about the success of NAMPAADD during kgotla meetings addressed by Assistant Minister of Agriculture Pelokgale Seloma.
Seloma briefed them on the new agricultural policy designed to improve food security and avoid dependency on neighbouring countries for the supply of agriculture products.
Mookane and Shoshong residents said NAMPAADD would not succeed because it was difficult for farmers to secure loans from CEDA and commercial banks.
They said while CEDA forms had many difficult requirements, commercial banks needed security and Batswana farmers did not have it.
They said CEDA did not approve applications of people who still have loans with SMME.
They alleged that CEDA rejected applications for rain fed agriculture.
They said Batswana farmers' security was their livestock because their lives were based on farming but commercial banks did not accept livestock as security.
Mookane residents said the requirement of a project memorandum made it impossible to access CEDA.
They said after the consultants have charged individuals for drawing up a project memorandum there was no guarantee that the applications would be approved However, Seloma told them that NAMPAADD was a programme that encouraged committed farmers to venture into commercial agriculture.
He added that if they treated NAMPAADD as business then they would know that for business to take off it required a business plan and market strategy.
Seloma also explained that Israelites were engaged because their climatic conditions were similar to Botswana's yet they produced enough food for the country and export.
He said NAMPAADD was introduced after realising that previous government assistant programmes did not produce satisfactory outcomes.
He said the government was concerned that a lot of money was spent importing agricultural products.
Seloma said there was no way Botswana could claim to be fully independent when it could not feed itself. BOPA