BOTSWANA’s President Advocate Duma Boko has called on African countries to give land, financing and training to young people so they can help grow the agriculture sector and fight the effects of climate change.
Officiating at the Agricultural and Commercial Show in Lusaka this afternoon, President Boko said young people should not be left out when it comes to finding solutions to climate change.
“Our youth cannot just be passive bystanders,” President Boko said.
“They are the climate generation. They are the imaginative entrepreneurs crafting weather apps, building aquaponic farms, and experimenting with carbon culture. They are daring to reimagine agriculture not just as inheritors but as innovators.”
He explained that with the right support, youths can lead the way in making agriculture more modern and climate friendly.
The Batswana leader said governments should give you g people land, loans, training and opportunities to learn from others in the region.
Meanwhile, President Boko said climate change was a big threat to farming in Africa, bringing droughts, floods, and other disasters.
He added that hunger is not just a number but a real struggle for many people in Africa and countries in the region must work together and act quickly.
“We need to embrace the opportunities that climate change brings. Let us reimagine agriculture as a powerful tool for climate resilience, regional integration, inclusive development, resilient food systems and transformation,” said Boko.
“We can’t allow this to go unmitigated. Since climate change is borderless, our response must be both regional, coordinated, intelligent and unrelenting. Botswana and Zambia has embraced this call, through frameworks such as SADC, a joint permanent commission on cooperation. Instruments not of rhetoric but of resolve.”
He said both countries were using modern methods like solar irrigation, water harvesting, and conservation farming to help farmers produce more in a changing climate.
The visiting Head of State also said Africa must build stronger farming businesses that can trade within the continent and create jobs, especially for young people.
President Boko was in the country for a two day working visit at the invitation of President Hakainde Hichilema and he was the guest of honour at the Agricultural and Commercial Show.
This year’s show is being commemorated under the theme: “Adapting to Climate Change.”
By Catherine Pule
Kalemba, August 2, 2025
