Am I the only one who expected so much from the Minister of Agricultural Production and Food Security regarding the immediate plan and response to the COVID-19 situation and beyond? With the trucks situation very volatile, Minister Dikoloti should be rising to the occasion.

This pandemic if anything, had to be a wake up call to BW and it's over reliance on SA goods. Now with trucks piling up at the border, mandatory testing, border closures and cleaning routines, we are going to have a supply shock.

A detailed Agric sector status report from the minister would show which areas we aren't sufficient in for entrepreneurs to dabble into. That, coupled with an Agric fund which could be targeted towards expanding production for those businesses which need some injection.

These are extraordinary times. We need to be thinking ahead. In China, it is reported that their government has injected top $ into stimulating their medical manufacturing sector. This is targeted towards the increased demand for medical goods during such a time as this one.

In Italy, which produces wheat and vegetables for export, they have missed their planting period because of the rona. The processing and manufacturing sectors are yet to feel the pinch later this year because they won't have the raw material...

...upstream value chain companies like fertilizer manufacturers are stuck with their goods. Italy will undergo a depression now because of poor economic activity, and a double dip recession later because of the lack of production. Let us tear a leaf off their page.

This is the best time to catch up. This is the best time to stimulate local production. Our minister needs to summon his Agic directors together with Beef, Poultry, Horticulture, Pandamatenga, Mosisedi etc Associations to brainstorm on a possible plan.