Beyond bad: TOTUMA farmers count losses
Lesedi Mkhutshwa | Monday August 28, 2023 06:00
There seems to be no end in sight for the misery TOTUMA members and other farmers in the North eastern part of the country are going through, as they suffer due to increasingly unreliable rainfall and the economic fallout from COVID-19.
From over 59 members at the peak of its membership, TOTUMA last season had just 36 members, having lost many farmers over the years for various reasons. The 2022-2023 season was particularly difficult for the farmers’ association, with “just a handful” of the 36 remaining members being able to “harvest something,” says chairperson, Stephen Pillar.
Late last month, President Mokgweetsi Masisi declared the 2022-2023 season a severe arable agricultural drought year, noting that long dry spells were experienced in January (21 days) and March (12 days), with only February receiving good rains. Government is therefore spending millions of pula more on various interventions including livestock feed subsidies, partial bank loan guarantees and nutritional support.
Pillar told Mmegi that the past harvesting season was beyond bad and had left farmers devastated and empty-handed. The greatest challenges, he said, were unreliable rainfall and lack of capital. “The poor farmers suffered a major setback and are even struggling to cover investments in their crops,” said Pillar. According to the chairman, the poor harvest occurred because the good rains came earlier in November/December but later disappeared in January. Only a handful who managed to plough by that time managed to get a good harvest, he said.
“The government started giving out seedlings in January, so a lot of people were able to plough during those periods and harvested little to nothing at all due to unreliable rainfall.” The TOTUMA chairperson said in light of the disastrous harvest, members have taken a deliberate decision to plough drought-tolerant crops for the upcoming 2023-2024 season.
The farmers’ association believes such a response is also their effort at mindset change, the nationwide campaign President Masisi champions. Selected drought-tolerant crops for this season include groundnuts, sorghum, sunflower and others in demand. “We have done our research and studied market opportunities for drought-tolerant crops. So far, we have found a market in the SPEDU region for supplying sunflower to a cooking oil manufacturing company in Selebi-Phikwe.
The fact that drought has affected our region over several years means we need a mindset change,” Pillar said. Ahead of the upcoming ploughing season, TOTUMA farmers have several concerns. Part of the reduction of members has been their tendency to drop out of commercial farming over the years. By doing so, they would opt for subsistence farming incentives under the Integrated Support Programme for Arable Development (ISPAAD). The new ISPAAD, known as Temo Letlotlo, is targeted at commercialising the country’s agriculture, but its exact details are as yet unclear, even as the season approaches. “There has been a delay in the commencement of the new Temo Letlotlo. We hope the new programme will give farmers an opportunity to apply for grants and loans for farming,” he said.
Ahead of the new season, Pillar said plans are underway as they have made ploughing plans and arrangements with the suppliers for a successful harvesting period next year. However, standing between the farmers and next year’s harvest is the dreaded resurgence of El Niño, the climate phenomenon that in Botswana is associated with increased heat waves and reduced rainfall over summer. Regional and global forecasters say El Niño has already settled and will strengthen as the season progresses. “We are still waiting for a seasonal weather forecast and an update from the Department of Meteorological Services. We will make informed decisions after we have received the update,” Pillar concluded.