22 Sep 2024

The newly opened set of silos in Pandamatenga are projected to catapult the agro production hub to a centre of excellence in agriculture.

The 12 steel silos with a capacity of 60 000 metric tonnes are an addition to the existing 30 000 metric tonnes grain storage silos projected to increase national food security storing variety of grains of sorghum, maize, millet, beans, sunflower and others.
The state of the art storage infrastructure consists of a weigh bridge, truck external paths, storm water drainage system, motor control room, stand by generator electrical and instrumentation installations.

This project is a government initiative in collaboration with Special Economic Zone Authority (SEZA) as the funder and Botswana Agricultural Marketing Board (BAMB) as the custodian of the land and operations.
Officially opening the silos in July, President Dr Mokgweetsi Masisi described them as an engine for innovation in the agricultural sector.

He said Pandamatenga as a special economic zone and epicenter for arable agriculture required proper infrastructure to cultivate more opportunities for sustainable development.

“As government we want to see Batswana happy and prosperous wherever they are and these special economic zones help us create employment and fight hunger to achieve a happy nation.”

President Masisi explained that Pandamatenga constituted about 97 000 hectares of arable land 44 000 of which was commercial, 12 000 hectares in the hands of small farmers and 41 000 projected for the Zambezi integrated agro- commercial development project designed to expand the agricultural sector.

Minister of Trade and Industry, Mr Mmusi Kgafela stated that the new 60 000 metric tonnes silos were a drive for farmers to increase their production.

Mr Kgafela indicated that the long existing 30 000 metric tonnes were a bottleneck to production in that farmers were constrained by the silos capacity to produce limited grains.

He highlighted that even beyond the 12 new silos, there was need for expansion from the 90 000 metric tonnes because in a good year farmers could produce more than 100 000 metric tonnes.

The minister said Pandamatenga as a special economic zone had potential for growth, owing to the impending Agro-Zambezi Commercial Project water scheme, where farmers would draw water from Zambezi River for irrigation.

“Currently farmers rely on rain water, which is an unreliable source and after the Agro- Zambezi water scheme effects, production will increase as there will be yield all year instead of seasonal.”

Furthermore, the minister indicated that the development presented many opportunities, created jobs, led to reduction of food import bill and supported SMMEs.

The Minister of Agriculture, Mr Fidelis Molao stated that the silos were an advanced adaptation of the traditional silos that existed in many households in the past to preserve crops.

Mr Molao indicated that Pandamatenga as a special economic zone presented many opportunities for farmers, adding that more land would be allocated to subsistence and commercial ones.

“With more farmers producing there is need for storage because we do not want any harvest to go to waste.”

He said the silos were also aligned to government’s objectives of having strategic grain reserves in place, which called for surplus food to meet the demand in a time of scarcity. ENDS