Nkgono Jane says...

September 2016

This month we will be having our Day of Celebration. We don’t foresee many new members joining the 250 Ton Club this year because of the severe drought that was experienced in many areas. This is not a disaster – this is farming. We have to continue to try hard and do our best and when the rains come we will have a chance at a good harvest.

As farmers, and as people, we are social beings and we must use this to our best advantage in farming. We are able to communicate with other farmers, and in so doing, we share our knowledge and our experiences. We can progress very fast if we use the wisdom of those who have walked before us.

In most areas, we should start planting during October of each year. If you have not already made plans for the coming season, it is time to hurry so that you are not caught napping. If you plant your crop late then you will not get the best yield – timing is very important in crop production. There is a time for everything and you only get one chance each year. Please make sure that you have planned all your inputs in good time. It is better to plant a smaller area and use good inputs in the correct amounts. Rather plant less and do it really properly than plant a lot and then you run out of money for top dressing or weed control. All your efforts are aimed at a good harvest and if you do not follow modern and excellent production practices then you will not be able to get the good yield you are hoping for.

Remember that caring for your equipment is a very important part of crop farming – once the production season starts, you want all the tractors and implements to be ready for the lands. If you have not already prepared the equipment for the coming season, you still have a few weeks left to do that.

Some of the departmental officials have agreed to allow some of the subsistence farmers to use the departmental equipment. We would like to express our thanks to them for this gesture – it is indeed a great help to these farmers to have some mechanisation to assist them.

Keep working hard – we will reap the rewards of the hard work.  

Publication: September 2016

Section: Pula/Imvula