22 Sep 2024

Gone are the days when farming was predominantly associated with the elderly cohort.

Lately, many youths seem to be jumping into the food production train – and they do so with vigor.

They have developed so much keen interest in farming that they are making it fashionable. Upon such realisation, President Dr Mokgweetsi Masisi ensured that the young populace’ dream came true.

He revealed during the inaugural Youth Livestock Farmers Day in Serowe earlier this year that government had started a process to secure a chunk of land for purposes of ranch allocation to the said group.

At the event, he highlighted that government was committed to supporting and nurturing young farmers, given the introduction of programmes such as Temo Letlotlo and Thuo Letlotlo, as well as availing land, all aimed at revitalising the agricultural sector.

Ngwato Landboard did not disappoint either. It came to the party by fast tracking the process of acquiring land for ranches in the Zone 6 area.

As a result, final consultations on the proposed locality map for Zone 6 extension were recently conducted in Makalamabedi, Khumaga and Rakops.

Interpreting the proposed map in a kgotla meeting in Khumaga on Tuesday, Mr Ketshephemang Kenaope, a mapping principal technical officer at Ngwato Land Board said the process was at an advanced stage, adding that they were left with the demarcation, to be done before the final stage of advertising the ranches for young people to try their luck.

He highlighted that the total surface area for grazing at Zone 6 stood at 441 000ha, while land earmarked for demarcation of ranches was 78 000ha, which he said constituted approximately 21 per cent of the 441 000ha.

This leaves 79 per cent for open grazing, which is approximately 363 000ha, he said. Upon completion of the whole process, Mr Kenaope said there would be 12 small agricaltural holdings ranging between 250ha to 400ha, all vacant and reserved to be advertised for youth applications.

As for the main ranches, he said there would be two open for syndicates, measuring approximately 5km X 5.5km.

Furthermore, Mr Kenaope explained that the proposed layout was earmarked at 20km from villages and settlements, while a communal watering area for animals stood 11km away, around Phefodiafoka area along Dinaka-CKGR road  and about 28km from Rakops.

Many in Boteti area consider the Zone 6 extension initiative as a progressive development, said Mr Galebitseng Radijo, a resident of Khumaga, who was however skeptical about the proposed 11km distance from the river, adding that the distance was inadequate and might results in shortage of open grazing land in the area.

Meanwhile, Mr Balakidzi Nduna of Rakops sub-landboard said they were currently allocating ploughing fields in the area, pushing a backlog of as far back as 2015. ENDS