Citrus import bill worries government
During the tour, Manake visited the P300 million Selebi Phikwe Citrus Project, which was launched by President Mokgweetsi Masisi last yea
Farmers have been urged to trim the country’s ballooning import bill for citrus with sustainable local production.
Statistics indicate that Botswana currently imports 97 percent of its annual citrus consumption, presenting an opportunity for local farmers to satisfy local demand and even explore export opportunities.
Minister of Agricultural Development and Food Security, Beauty Manake, touring agriculture projects in the SPEDU and Tuli Block Special Economic Zones ( SEZs), this week implored farmers to prop up production. “We have a huge opportunity to become a major producer of citrus. But first we must introspect and close existing gaps so as to reduce production costs and become price competitive. “We must increase capacity to produce our own seedlings and reduce dependency on South Africa. We must reduce the costs of inputs like electricity, water and agro- chemicals,” said Manake.
She said the citrus production and its entire value chain present great potential for economic diversification and job creation in Botswana. The Selebi- Phikwe and Tuli Block SEZs are expected to boost the horticulture and tourism sectors, leading to economic growth in the SPEDU region. With an estimated land area of 29 313ha, Tuli Block is an acropolis SEZ focused on production and processing of fruits and vegetables. SEZA aims to establish Tuli Block as a brown field cluster of single factory zones because it has a good network of infrastructure like roads, power, fiber and irrigation.
In addition, Tuli block also has readily available water from the perennial Limpopo River, Lotsane River and boreholes; with ready irrigation infrastructure already in place such as wildlife proof fences. Government also envisages to see farmers utilising the infrastructure like the Martins Drift border post, Selebi- Phikwe Airport in their value chain. Meanwhile, Manake’s tour was aimed at reviewing the impact of government investment in the agriculture sector and liaising with agro- producers to better understand their challenges.
During the tour, Manake visited the P300 million Selebi Phikwe Citrus Project, which was launched by President Mokgweetsi Masisi last year. The 1200ha project is one of the largest flat unit citrus plantations in Southern Africa, with potential to create 1, 000 jobs once operational. Manake also visited Orange Farm in Molalatau which started the citrus operation in 2010 after benchmarking with South African farmers. Over the years, it produced 1452 crates in 2017, 3107 in 2018 and 5638 in 2020 at the height of the COVID- 19 pandemic.