Africa's farmer presidents – Botswana's Masisi joins Geingob, Buhari, Museveni

May 2020: Botswana president talks farming

Botswana president Eric Mokgweetsi Masisi on Saturday gave social media users what he called a peep into “Mokgweetsi the farmer’s life.”

The president shared photos of himself on his farm where he rears animals – specifically sheep and cattle. In casual clothing and adhering to COVID-19 guidelines, masked Masisi also wore a cowboy hat as he toured his farm.

“To many, I am the President of Botswana. But before I am President, I am a son to my mother, Mma Tshelang. I am a husband to Neo, a father to Atsile, a nephew, a brother and an uncle. All these titles come with responsibilities which I perform with pleasure,” he captioned a set of photos.

“I am also an ardent farmer and this weekend I want to give you a peep into Mokgweetsi the farmer’s life,” he captioned another set.

He shared a video clip of his dependable farm manager who he described as an expert in breeding goats.

Masisi joins a number of African leaders who have publicly spoken about their love for farming. Amongst them are:

• Nigeria’s Muhammadu Buhari – cattle and crop farmer
• Uganda’s Yoweri Museveni – a cattle farmer
• Namibia’s Hage Geingob – a crop farmer
• Ex-Tanzania president Jakaya Kikwete – crop farmer
• Ex-Botswana president Ian Khama – cattle farmer

‘There is life after retirement’ – Ex-President of Tanzania [Photos]

I am also an ardent farmer and this weekend I want to give you a peep into Mokgweetsi the farmer’s life. pic.twitter.com/PgwSZLYeaO

— Dr. Mokgweetsi E.K Masisi (@OfficialMasisi) May 16, 2020

March 2018: Africa’s farmer presidents – Namibia’s Geingob joins Buhari and Museveni

President of Namibia, Hage Geingob, despite his presidential schedules made time to visit his farm earlier this week.

He shared photos on social media of how he spent time inspecting his maize harvest as he put it, ‘after the good rains at Farm Hadaloha.

Incidentally he was fine-tuning his speech for the southern African nation’s 28th independence day celebrations.

“Food security is a crucial aspect in eradicating poverty. Agriculture has the potential to transform our economy,” his tweet accompanied by four photos added.

Sitting and former presidents in farming

Masisi as of 2020 joins three other African presidents who have previously shared photos working on their farms. Uganda’s Yoweri Museveni and Nigeria’s Muhammadu Buhari are not only former soldiers but they are both into cattle farming. Buhari also has crops. Hage Geingob is the third.

The other African leaders known for their farming exploits are former Tanzanian president Jakaya Kikwete, exiled Gambian leader Yahya Jammeh and ex Liberian leader Ellen Johnson Sirleaf.

Kikwete stated in 2017 that some of the joys of not being in office was that he made time for his farm. Jammeh was last seen working on a farm in Equatorial Guinea whiles Johnson Sirleaf has said farming was something she had planned to do more once out of office.