MASISI APPLAUDS FARMERS
PRESIDENT Mokgweetsi Masisi has applauded Sandveld Ranches farmers for their involvement in the livestock sub-sector as it contributes significantly to the socioeconomic development of this country as a source of food, employment and income, particularly in the rural communities.
When officially opening the Sandveld Ranches Association Field Day on Saturday, Masisi said that the beef sector remains the backbone of the livestock sub-sector and, with its supply of raw materials and by-products, contributes immensely to the value chain in the related sectors and downstream industries.
“However, the growth of the livestock sub-sector is continuously threatened by disease outbreaks, predators and frequent droughts due to the effects of climate change.”
He said that Botswana is renowned for its high quality grassfed beef in the international market space and urged farmers to continue to producing the best beef in the world.
“It is worth mentioning that we have been able to sustain the European Union (EU) and Norway markets because of our stringent disease control measures and good animal traceability system that follows the animal from farm to fork.”
He said that this has been made possible by the government’s investment in the Botswana Animal Identification and Trace Back System (BAITS) and the commitment to compliance by none other than the farmers. He mentioned that recently, they have seen this system being extended to the small stock sub-sector to facilitate trade and exports. He said that currently, cattle population stands at 2.1 million but these numbers continue to decline due to a variety of factors including, but not limited to, poor livestock husbandry management practices which, in turn, lead to low productivity. He said that this was a worrisome trend which he believes needs urgent intervention from all players in the beef industry.
“My government has been responding to these challenges in a number of ways in an effort to increase the national herd with improvements in both quality and quantity.” He said that in the recent times, the government has adopted a Beef Cluster Strategy which has identified areas of improvement that include: ways of upgrading production, research and technology transfer, as well as the promotion and marketing of beef.
“The strategy aims at unlocking the value chain linkages and promoting market access. It is my firm belief that you are better placed here in the Sandveld to promote grass-fed beef exports to the much sought-after sophisticated niche markets,” explained the president.
He said that in order to demonstrate the well-intended interventions, Government has launched the National Bull Initiative, taking a cue from the initiative he started under small stock farming. He said that the aim is to extend a donation of one bull of quality breed covering each of the 57 Constituencies.