The Division mandate is to promote agricultural and rural development in Botswana. To facilitate this policy objective, Agricultural Information provides exclusive support to the Ministry's extension service

As it could be attested by sister departments over many years of its being the Division of Agricultural Information and Public Relations has enjoyed considerable reputation in performing its functions hand in hand with sister departments in implementing their various extension approaches used in teaching farmers about improved agricultural technologies and how to adapt them this being through communication and educational dimensions to achieve its goals.

In its effort to promote agricultural development, the division works through the extension service by supporting rural agricultural activities. It also works as the Public relations arm for the Ministry of Agriculture. Therefore, the division must be seen to provide useful information dissemination and public relations in terms of being more responsible to the needs of the Ministry of Agriculture and the farming community at large.

The Division has six sections of:

• Publication
• Broadcasting
• Campaigns
• Audio Visual
• Graphics and Photography.

This section has two units Radio and Television.

Radio

The Radio Unit is charged with the production of three agricultural radio programmes in the national radio station.

Below are the programmes broadcast time and the duration as well as their format. There is Pitso ya Balemi (a call to farmers) which is a magazine programme, compost of farm interviews and agricultural news. The other programme is Molemi Ithute (Farmers Learn) this is a feature programme combined with entertainment segment called Thibang Diphotlha (jingles, spot announcements and music) and the third programme is Matimela, this programmed broadcast a list of stray livestock that are in possession of District Councils. There are also Talk shows within the programme where experts from different fields discuss various topics. Features are also included which in most cases are events coverage. All these three programmes are targeted at farming community and the general public and are broadcast in the evenings after 1900 hours. The reason why in the evenings being that is the time when farmers are back from the farms and relaxed at home and as such they are able to tune on their radios and the televisions.

Pitso ya Balemi ..........Tuesday ......1915 to 1945 hours

Molemi Ithute ............Thursday .....1915 to 1945 hours

Matimela ...................Sunday........1900 to 1915 hours

Material for Pitso ya Balemi and Molemi Ithute programmes are collected from farmers in the field, experts in both governmental, parastatal and non-governmental organization. Agricultural news for Pitso ya Balemi is sourced in the same manner and other news items sent in from various sources, while the material for Matimela Programme come from District Councils who sent the list of stray livestock in their possession.

TV Unit

The purpose of the Agriculture Television Programme is to develop subsistence farmers into commercial farmers by simplifying technical information through visuals. The programme also encourages new farmers into pursuing agriculture as a career, thus boasting the impact of response to farming.

The programme promotes government Agricultural Policies and the operations of the Ministry as well as the boarder line. Agricultural programmes promote the products of the farmers and enhance information sharing by farmers and the Ministry's subject specialists.

Agricultural articles in the private print media have not been adequately covered in the country so agriculture Television Programmes has closed that gap. It has been realized that agriculture can create jobs thus reducing the gap between the poor and rich, therefore Agriculture Television Programmes are addressing that. The programmes are aired weekly on Mondays.

Through its monthly news magazine "April 2009 Agrinews (.pdf file)", the section promotes and publicises information on the Ministry's development projects, policies and programmes such as ALDEP, LIMID, FENCING POLICY and any other research materials and extension materials carried both technically and informational formatted articles (news). Positively respond to invitations to participate in covering any field activities such as district shows, farmers' days, demonstrations and field courses, meetings and any other events taking place at extension regions.

The section also produces any other publication directed to the farming community. In addition, it distributes annual reports from different departments and divisions of the Ministry of Agriculture. For wider coverage the section runs a weekly column in the national paper the Botswana Daily News and another monthly column in the Kutlwano magazine, both Publications of the Department of Information Services.