Botswana still among the least industrialised nations: Part II

This week we continue our discussion on the importance of economic diversification. Last week we emphasised that Agro processing industries have great potential in Botswana’s rural areas. We noted that apart from tins of ECCO corned meat, beef and pet food, produced at the Lobatse BMC, we see very few local processed products on our supermarket shelves.

But why can’t we process these products here in Botswana and so create jobs? After all, it does not take too much effort or skill to squeeze a few oranges to make a welcome breakfast drink! Many farmers here grow tomatoes and when they harvest them some of the crop may be rejected for reasons of quality or the fact that the tomatoes are overripe or rotting. So, why not process such tomatoes to make tomato sauce, paste or juice? And the beans that we grow can be mixed with tomato sauce and sold as baked beans. Also, the recently established huge citrus project near Selebi Phikwe could yield a plentiful supply of fresh oranges for a local fruit juice industry. The opportunities are endless.

Recently, the Chobe Land Board set aside some 30 000 hectares of land for the expansion of commercial farms in the Pandamatenga area. Also, 100 hectares have been earmarked for an agro processing plant here. Such land allocations are seen as contributing to the development of the Pandamatenga Special Economic Zone. Here farmers grow crops in heavy ‘ black cotton’ soils, or clays, which are unsuitable for maize which does not tolerate waterlogging. However, these soils are very suitable for growing sunflower and cotton. Sunflower can then be further processed into cooking oil and cotton can be the foundation for a textile industry here; for example, the making of cool cotton shirts so ideal for our warm climate.

And there is much potential in the processing of indigenous fruits; for example, morula, Botswana’s national tree which is common throughout eastern parts of the country. This is one of our most important indigenous trees and is a multipurpose tree! Female morula trees produce yellowish fruits that contain pulp, or flesh ( the part that can be eaten fresh), which can used for making jam, juice, jelly, sweets, syrup, vinegar, beer, wine and Amarula liqueur. The fruit pulp is not only delicious but highly nutritious with a Vitamin C content two to four times that of orange juice.

Also, about 5kg of oil ( from the nut, or kernel, in the middle of the fruit) can be harvested per tree and this can be used in making cosmetics and skin care products. This is because the oil is not greasy, it hydrates the skin and combats wrinkles and reduces blemishes on the skin. The price of oil is high, about P180 per kg. This, then, could be a lucrative business, since unlike exotic fruits like oranges or apples, morula trees grow naturally in the wild and so no cash is needed to grow them in an orchard; all you need is a bucket to collect the fruits!

At present, there are only two significant morula oil processors in Botswana; one in the Tswapong area and the other, DLG Naturals, at Gabane, which produces about 500kg of morula oil per year. This company buys the kernels countrywide which involves hundreds of harvesters. Maungo Craft is a local manufacturer of chutney, marmalades and jams that include morula, banana and coconut jam; grapefruit, morula and baobab marmalade…

Such products are often displayed at trade, consumer, agricultural and BOCCIM fairs but it seems that large scale production of such products is not commonplace here. After all, it is very rare to see such products on supermarket shelves. But there is a demand for them here! So, the message is clear, let’s not allow all those morula fruits that we so often see lying around the trees go to waste! And let’s advertise these products and persuade the large supermarket chains to stock them!

Medicinal products can also be produced from the morula tree – the roots and bark can be used as laxatives and a decoction of bark treats dysentery,

diarrhea and rheumatism. And it is believed that the bark can also play a role in preventing malaria.

However, the failure rate of new food products is very high. Maybe the National Food Technology Centre in Kanye could assist in developing new food products and share the technology with local entrepreneurs who could then make and sell the products.

Tertiary institutions could also establish Food Processing courses.

Some Non- Government Organisations ( NGOs) have done research on indigenous plants. Veld Products at Gabane established plantations of morula trees to assess their growth and yield and the results obtained were very promising.

Thusano Lefatsheng at Kumakwane also conducted trials on the growing of morama bean and sengaparile; they also set up a small factory to process sengaparile roots into medicinal powder for which they found that there was a good market in European countries.

There is clearly a huge potential in exploiting such natural products; these NGOs have shown us the way forward and now it is up to local entrepreneurs to follow suit. And perhaps government research institutions and the Botswana University of Agriculture and Natural Resources could play a part. But the success and survival of the manufacturing sector in Botswana also depends on what decisions consumers make when they enter a store. Some years back, a Buy Botswana campaign was launched to encourage consumers to buy goods made here rather than those that are imported from elsewhere. However, the onus is on local manufacturers here to ensure that they consistently produce high quality goods at an affordable price.

If not, then consumers will continue to buy South African goods and so industrialisation in Botswana will remain only a pipedream. No wonder, then, that at the commemoration of The Africa Industrialisation Day in November 2021, the Trade Ministry’s Deputy Permanent Secretary, Obusitswe Tiroesele, said: The public’s purchasing decision is the determinant for the survival and prosperity of the manufacturing sector in Botswana.’ And there needs to be a more vibrant policy towards industrialisation and a vision for the future.

In contrast to light industries, many heavy industries, such as iron and steel and chemicals, require much capital to begin operations, and are less labour intensive and so employ fewer numbers of people. They also employ a higher proportion of skilled or semi- skilled workers and so may provide jobs for foreigners rather than for locals.

And many economists these days are now of the opinion that innovation trends and capital- intensive technologies may indeed reduce the potential of manufacturing industries to absorb low- skill workers.