Maranyane Ngwanaamotho
25 November 2009
Farmers have been told to take advantage of early rains to start planting. Director of Crop Production, Molatlhegi Modise said in Gaborone yesterday that in some areas the recent rains were enough for farmers to start planting.
He said that the department of agriculture is prepared to help farmers in need of assistance with crop production. He said that they have already distributed over 75 percent of crop seeds. He advised farmers not to hesitate to contact their offices if they need any help. "We are well prepared. The ISPAAD programme is running well without any problems," he said.
Othata Mmolotsi, principal meteorologist said that this is the time that rains should be expected since it is the rainy season. "Rains are expected from October to March, hence the recent rains." He said that this year's rainy season forecast is normal to above normal. He however said that these are just early rains, which makes it difficult to tell if indeed rains will be normal to above normal.
"An average of normal to above normal rains is 200 ml for the whole three months," he said. He explained that a forecast is for only three months, which needs to be updated periodically. He said that they would only be able to tell if the forecast was correct at the end of 90 days, when they have all the measurements. He said that they are hoping to update the forecast at the beginning of next month.
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