Botswana: The Potential of the Untapped Agricultural Sector



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By Tebagano Ntshole

Molepolole – President Mokgweetsi Masisi urged all stakeholders to develop the Molepolole Showground to be the center of agriculture.

Molepolole District Show officially opens July 28 A lot in the village should not be left idle but used productively.

He said that the land was large enough for council and other stakeholders such as the show committee to set up a slaughterhouse. The Botswana Agricultural Marketing Bureau (BAMB) and other related organizations could also establish a permanent residence in the region, said the president.

He suggested that the demonstration site could be developed through the Electoral District Development Fund, saying that each of the two constituencies could each contribute up to P3 million for the project.

Because of its size and population, Molepolole has great potential to be the breadbasket of the country, and the vast lands of Kweneng are an added bonus, says Masisi.

"Given its climatic and environmental conditions Kweneng District is the most suitable for the production of beef, small livestock, cereals, especially sorghum, legumes and fodder", a- he said. third in the country behind the districts of Central and Ngami and urged farmers to take advantage of the EU market.

Another advantage is the proximity of Gaborone and the president called on farmers to take advantage of the city to market their products.

The small population of the stock is about 200,000, the third behind the central and southern districts.

"I am also told with certainty that the district has a high rate of use of the LIMID program" President Masisi said that the growth of the small livestock population, which was mainly goats, was an indication of the existence of a small stock that currently has 3,125 beneficiaries, placing it third after the districts of Kgalagadi and Center. "the positive impact of government-funded programs such as that LIMID and the Poverty Eradication Program.

"Therefore, it should be noted that Kweneng District is a zone of great diversification for the agricultural production base." 19659015] Kweneng has the potential to produce 210 tons of pork, 6,200 tons of beef and 75 tons of goat meat a year and the president said that if this came to fruition, it could significantly reduce the import bill of the com

He said the government had decided to replicate the Lobu Farm Project in various appropriate areas across the country.

Located in Kgalagadi District, the Lobu Farm has "The benefits will include an increase in the quality and number of the national stock, and will give the Batswana access to these animals, thus opening up." Huge opportunities for Masisi said that given the number of small stocks in Kweneng, district leaders should seize this opportunity and adopt the Lobu model, adding that this could be done on Mantshwabisi farms

. He also indicated that the Botswana Meat Commission (BMC) needed to be restructured to make it economically viable

. "BMC was created for the purpose of buying cattle and processing beef for sale in the foreign market, mainly to the European Union," he said.

He stated that the slaughterhouse had to be lined up He encouraged farmers to play a role in the transformation when they were getting the most out of the benefits of the reformed BMC.

Speaking of ISPAAD, President Masisi noted that Kweneng District has 97 projects that can produce 200 tons of fodder to support the livestock industry.

"This will indeed have a significant impact on food production and the eradication of poverty in the district through the production of the district show was held under the theme" Fostering food security through agriculture profitable community "activities in wetlands

Source: BOPA

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