NFTRC Briefed farmers at LEA Horticultural Incubation Farms – Glenn Valley

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National Food Technology Research Centre (NFTRC) briefed farmers on services offered by the Centre and how they could benefit from them. The interactive and vibrant presentation which was later concluded by conducting sensory evaluation study on Symba Cereal Drink was held at Local Enterprises Authority (LEA) Horticulture Incubation farm at Gaborone.

When addressing farmers who attended the briefing on services offered by NFTRC Acting Head of Extension and Training Department Ms Tumelo M. Tlhong said the organisation is mandated to carry out research on food and technologies, which are commercially viable for a sustainable food processing industry. She elaborated that it is NFTRC’s principal objective to exploit opportunities in the food sector as well as promote food security.

When elaborating on NFTRC’s Skills and Knowledge Transfer program, she said the Centre offers life changing skills which could help one better their life adding that sadly a high number of those trained encounter other challenges resulting in giving up the enthusiasm and the will to proceed further into business. She emphasised that acquiring skill alone would not necessarily turn one into an entrepreneur as one needs to acquire knowledge and skills of how to effectively and efficiently run a productive business. In this regard she urged them to seek help from other stakeholders such as Citizen Entrepreneurship Development Agency (CEDA), Local Enterprises Authority (LEA), Botswana Innovation Hub (BIH) to mention a few.

She urged them to be confident and not shy away from opportunities which could change their lives for the better and they should always be willing to seek help in other organisations to make it in business. She said some fail due to lack of confidence in themselves hence loss opportunities. She highlighted that though majority fail due to lack of funding, some fail due to being inexperienced while others wants to be stand alone. She encouraged them to always work together as a team, noting that would ultimately help them succeed in businesses hence diversify the economy as well as create employment .

When responding to some of the questions, Ms Tlhong reminded the farmers to always be clear when they request for a service from NFTRC to make it easier for those in the Centre that deal with such to provide quick and appropriate service.

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