Stanbic partners LEA to empower farmers
Gaone Marumoloa | Thursday March 30, 2017 16:22
The partnership was intended to encourage incubator clients to adopt and implement good horticulture management and business practices in their enterprises with the bank awarding P250,000 to the best three performers.
Speaking at the award ceremony in Gaborone this week, LEA deputy chief executive officer Masego Gwaila-Madanika said the programme empowered trainees to have the skills to operate sustainable horticulture enterprises upon completion.
Gwaila-Madanika said LEA trained them on both enterprise and crop management through different training workshops.
She said there were 27 clients who participated in the 2016 Glen Valley Horticulture Incubator.
Gwaila-Madanika said LEA offered the clients practical experience to have a feel of what enterprise management entails, particularly on best industry practices as far as crop management/husbandry is concerned.
This is the main thrust of the programme, to enable trainees to perfect their skills in crop management techniques over a period of nine months.
“Trainees were exposed to different technologies that have the potential to improve output of the horticulture commodities. Technologies such as net houses, tunnels, green house, drip irrigation, the use of growing media for production as well as the use of treated effluent,” she said.
The methods and infrastructure that the Glen Valley Incubator uses to train their clients are used internationally to address challenges similar to those found locally such as extreme temperatures, limited irrigation water and unfavourable soils amongst others.
“This exposure has enabled graduates to make informed decisions on the choice of technologies that are relevant to their environment or farm and that reduces the risk of project failure due to lack of experience on the technologies,” she said.
She also said trainees have appreciated market strategies during the programme, to enable them to enhance the marketability and market access for their produce.
They have been trained on correct harvesting methods, sorting, grading, packaging, labelling, and delivery of produce to the market.
LEA business incubators provide - on a temporary basis - shared premises, capital equipment, business and technical services, as well as access to finance, including venture capital and business herald network.
The modelling of the incubator programme is tailored on the premise of agreed priority sectors in Botswana and forms part of entrepreneurial centres focused on development of skills necessary and the creation of an enabling environment for accelerated growth of businesses.
LEA has four incubators namely Pilane Multi-Purpose Incubator, Leather Industries Incubator, Francistown Industrial Business Incubator and the Glen Valley Horticulture Incubator. Plans are underway to open yet another incubator in the 2017/2018 financial year.
Gwaila-Madanika said that while carrying out this project, they had some challenges, as the infrastructure they were using in Glen Valley was old while they were also affected by the recent Cyclone Dineo, which damaged the infrastructure.
One graduate of the programme, Leatile Keitumetse, a farmer in Mookane, explained his experience with LEA as meaningful, informative and hands on.
He said LEA has made a huge contribution to his career as a farmer. He said although the nine-month long programme seemed like a short time, they learned a lot and will implement the skills they learnt at their places of business.