Barclays Bank of Botswana partners with Sandveldt farmers

Barclays Bank of Botswana has partnered with Sandveldt Ranchers Farmers Association in a bid to promote commercial farming to ensure sustainable food production for Batswana.

This year marks the fourth time Barclays Bank of Botswana has partnered with the association. The Sandveldt Agric show was held from 28 to 29 April 2017. These agricultural shows have proved to be a viable option to inform and promote collaboration amongst farmers. The event continues to attract more people as farmers use this opportunity to showcase their animals, share knowledge on best practice and engage critical stakeholders on key issues to improve the sector.

It is important for farmers to adopt and invest in innovative technologies to improve their products, due to increased global competition, cost inflation and changing climate conditions. This event was positioned to be a one-stop comprehensive business-to-business trading platform, where key topics that affect farmers, such as the response to unpredictable weather, markets and farming practices are discussed, as well as engaging stakeholders on other issues that affect the farmers.

In addition, it provides an opportunity for benchmarking as best practices are shared with farmers by different experts from farm management, veld fire management and controls, and demonstration on bull and cow fertility.

Speaking at the show, Business Banking Director at Barclays Bank of Botswana, Andre Potgieter, said: “The Sandveldt Agric show helps wider communities understand and value sustainable Botswana agriculture and appreciate quality produce and promoting skills sharing.” While the event hosts activities and displays that appeal to wide and diverse demographics, “we never lose sight of the need to continually promote agricultural excellence,” he said.

To encourage improvement, awards were presented to those farmers who exhibited top quality animals.The Sandveldt Ranchers Farmers Association is a non-profit organisation and events, such as the Agric show, allow it to invest into agricultural programmes, benchmarking, competitions, education and skills transfer activities.

Potgieter concluded, “Barclays bank is committed to promoting the Agriculture Sector as a viable business. We believe we are making a significant contribution for the benefit of every Motswana. We continue to be impressed by the commitment of farmers in improving and contributing to the nation’s food basket, despite the challenges involved in farming.”