Strategies for solving problems of rural development
- 1. There are two types of commercial farming in Botswana, the privately owned individual farms and those owned jointly by individuals and the government or parastatals. Privately owned farms are mainly for cattle ranching and crop production as practiced at the Pandamatenga farms. Production in this set up relies entirely on natural irrigation or rain and this makes the farms more vulnerable to drought as there is unreliable rainfall in the region. There are also commercial farms owned by parastatals such as the Botswana Development Corporation (BDC), joint company between the public and government e.g. Talana farms in Tuli Blocks and Barolong Farms. Development of commercial farming
- 2. In Botswana, credit is a payable loan given to a farmer with or without interest to facilitate farm operations. Credit is made available to farmers through credit facilities such as National Development Bank (NDB), Financial Assistance Policy (FAP) and others. Credit agents visit farmers from time to time advising them on how to make efficient use of supplies or equipment financed with the loans. The borrower must provide a plan of intended operations (project). In addition to this, credit facilities and credit agents provide training programmes through the Integrated Field Services (IFS). The aim of credit schemes and loans is to encourage small rural industries and farms which generate income for rural dwellers. In addition to this they also create employment for the rural population. Loan and Credit Schemes
- 3. For projects such as crop production there are grants like the Arable Land Development Programme (ALDEP) which we looked at earlier and ARAP which encourage production and self-sufficiency in food. A lot of the credit schemes mentioned here have been stopped due to poor management, drought and other factors. However, the government introduced CEDA, which you learnt about earlier, to help fund a lot of projects that were funded by the old schemes as well as set up new ones. There are a number of projects carried out in rural areas and examples of such Small Rural Projects are bakery, sewing (textile), poultry production, vegetable production, food canning and others. These small projects are encouraged by government to create rural industries and generate income for the rural population. Loan and Credit Schemes cont.
- 4. Different African governments encourage their farmers to form co- operatives. A co-operative is a group of fanners who join together in order to increase their production. Farmers unite to embark on a specific project. In Botswana there are a lot of these co-operatives. It becomes easy for the government to assist a co-operative financially as opposed to individual farmers. Farmers who join a co-operative are able to gain more as a group than they would as individuals. For instance, when buying in bulk/large quantities they are able to pay less for seeds, fertilisers, pesticides and machinery, and they are able to save the costs of transporting these imports. Farmers’ cooperatives
- 5. Farmers belonging to a co-operative can share the cost of machinery such as tractors and trucks. They can also organise storage of both the equipment and their harvested crops. By selling their products and sending them to markets together they can reduce marketing costs. They can also help one another by sharing ideas or inviting an expert or agricultural extension officer to give them advice. The farmers can also employ a manager to run the co-operative. The co-operative may also organise the borrowing of money from a bank, and may itself provide the farmers with credit. The co-operative can also sell merchandise that is not easy to access in rural areas such as building materials, clothes and others at reasonable prices. Farmers’ cooperatives
- 6. Third world governments also came up with re-settlement schemes. These are intended to group people in one area to make it easy for the government to provide them with human requirements or development. In some rural areas the population is sparsely populated and as such it becomes difficult to assist them. The RADs scheme in Botswana is a good example of a re-settlement scheme. The government wants to group the Basarwa communities in specific areas so that they can be provided with facilities such as schools, health facilities and many others that were previously missing in their areas. Remote Area Dwellers (RADs)
- 7. This refers to advice and guidance given to farmers on improved methods of farming and technology in agriculture. These services are offered by trained extension staff. Some of them are discussed below. Agricultural Extension Services
- 8. This is done through the newsletter called "Agrinews" from which farmers receive information about the latest agricultural developments. Other publications include hand-outs, posters and visual aids through which farmers have access to information. Publications
- 9. These are programmes addressing farmers on issues affecting their livestock and crops particularly on pests and diseases. These programmes include Thibang diphotha, Molemi Ithute, Molemi Morui and others. Radio programmes
- 10. These are held annually in major rural centres where there is concentration of farmers. They are organised by districts to bring farmers together and discuss their problems. Farmers also have the opportunity to demonstrate and share their skills with others. Agricultural shows
- 11. The University of Agriculture and Natural Resources ( BUA) provides training for Agricultural personnel. The trained staff advises and guides farmers on different government policies as well as on methods meant to improve agricultural productivity. Education and Training
- 12. It provides training for farmers on how to run their own ranches on the basis of the Tribal Grazing Land Policy (TGLP). The ranch management centre is located at Ramatlabama in the Southern part of Botswana. The ranches help farmers breed high quality livestock especially beef cattle. A good number of ranches are in the Chobe, Ghanzi, Tuli block, Central District and Kgalagadi districts. These are areas with high numbers of livestock. Ranch Management Centre
- 13. Government is involved in conducting research on crop variety, testing, control of pests and diseases and development of machinery suitable for conditions in Botswana (appropriate technology). After various research projects have been successfully completed, information is communicated to farmers and necessary assistance is given. Regional organisations such as SADC have engaged researches and came with more fitting programmes of poverty eradication such as the new partnership for Africa's Development (NEPAD) which was launched in 2001. Research
- 14. Various schemes have been put in place to resettle rural people. In many countries in Africa people have been misplaced by droughts, wars and other factors. In Botswana there has never been a serious problem of people disposed of their land. However, there has been a number of occasions where people had to be settled in different areas so as to help them live a better life or to pave way for development. Schemes have been put in place to compensate all concerned. Women in Botswana can nowadays own land, something that was uncommon in the past. The women now have the same rights as men to farmland. Settlement schemes
- 15. In addition to the forms of assistance earlier discussed other measures have also been put in place to help solve the problem of rural development especially in the agricultural sector. These measures include the following: Compulsory vaccination of livestock for anthrax and contagious abortion. Botswana Artificial Insemination Centres which provides farmers with semen to improve their breeds. Bull subsidiary schemes from Animal Production Research Unit. The scheme sells bulls to farmers at a reduced price. Livestock Advisory Centres (LACs) act as outlets for necessary medicines and equipment required by farmers in rural areas. LACs are found in major rural centres. Other Sources of Assistance
- 16. Botswana government also encourages rural people to work together through "Ipelegeng" or self-help schemes in the building of dams and roads which are necessary for the development of rural areas. People involved receive small wages to improve their standard of living and also to help alleviate poverty. Self Help Schemes