Residents of Kavimba in the Chobe District have requested government to consider allocating a portion of land from the Chobe Forest Reserve to be used as grazing land. While they appreciated government's interventions aimed at reviving the livestock sector, they decried shortage of grazing land as their village is sandwiched between two protected areas of the Chobe National Park and the Chobe Forest Reserve. Residents aired their views during a kgotla meeting addressed by President Dr Mokgweetsi Masisi on November 1, noting that if their request could be taken into consideration, they would be able to remove their livestock from the village as per the council bye-laws. �Our village sits on a shifting, narrow strip of land at the edge of a wilderness and we have been crying about lack of grazing land for the past 20 years. Today, the government wants us to remove livestock from the village. Where should we take our animals to?� said Edward Tumedi, one of the residents. He called on the relevant minister to come and engage farmers and map the way forward as the issue was affecting their livelihood. Another resident, Ms Kedisaletse Selume, from Wildlife Conservation Research Unit (WCRU), whose mission is to achieve practical solutions to conservation problems through original scientific research, concurred that allocating a portion of land from the forest reserve for grazing would be a welcome development. She said her organization was committed to assisting farmers to mitigate human wildlife conflict by introducing herding for health system so that livestock owners benefit from the commodity-based trade just like their counterparts in the Okavango District. The initiative, she said, was an opportunity for farmers to cut costs and make better profits, adding that they had benchmarked from Okavango and their feasibility study had shown that the programme could not be successful because there was no grazing land. Ms Selume, who is also the community liaison officer, said the initiative required proper grazing practices and kraalling, indicating that currently they had constructed 68 kraals in the Chobe Enclave and employed 10 people. �The system has the potential to motivate residents to love farming and enjoy economic rewards from their livestock,� she added. Mr Edgar Moyo called on the government to consider increasing ploughing hectares for small farmers at Pandamatenga, saying they want to grow from subsistence to commercial farming. He said they could look into CH12 concession and allocate 12 hectares to them so that they increase production. The President Masisi, assured residents that the issue of allocating a portion from the forest reserve would be discussed thoroughly, adding that it was not easy to give them the answer on the spot. The issue, he said, required all the affected ministers to engage each other and see how best they could assist them. �We will look into the matter because it will call for the relevant ministers to compromise and make changes. We will help you but the answer may not be to your satisfaction,� he added. Dr Masisi also accepted the generous offer by Mr Mogomotsi Gaebepe, who offered to provide solution to the burning issue of human-wildlife conflict. He offered to use his aircraft to chase animals from ploughing fields, saying that would save wildlife officers resources and improve response time. The Minister of Agriculture, Mr Fidelis Molao, urged residents to take advantage of the recently launched programme, Temo Letlotlo. Mr Molao said the programme was open for registration online and urged farmers to register in large numbers. He said the initiative provides fencing for individuals, groups and clusters. In the Chobe Enclave, he said farmers could benefit more if they group themselves. �If you group yourselves, you can be assisted with fencing as well as installation of solar power,� he added.