No country summoned Botswana on vegetable ban - Molao
Government has duty to protect its national Lack of market organisation in Agriculture sector a concern
Communal farmers this week sighed with relief following an assurance that they will enjoy protection in order for their produce to be sold in the local markets as part of government’s import substitution efforts. Since independence, the country has been heavily dependent on food imports due to various constraints that the farmers face, hence local farmers heavily lost with the goods not finding a market. This resulted in government imposing a vegetable ban on goods from the neighbouring countries in order to improve the situation. Whilst there is still a struggle to meet the local demand, the situation has improved for the better and this has not pleased chain farmers from across the border. Since the vegetable ban, local farmers have been worried by reports that South Africa is not happy with the ban imposed by both Botswana and Namibia who are SACU members and intends to take action which includes summoning responsible ministers.
In his welcome remarks during the official opening of the 22nd National Agricultural Show, whose theme was “Enabling Food Security, Through Profitable Communal Farming Priorities”, the Minister of Agriculture Development and Food Security, Fidelis Molao allayed these fears. “Please note we have not broken any regulations, there has not been any summoning by anybody and there cannot be any summoning. As a government we have responsibility and duty to Batswana, be assured we have your backs. “We will however from time to time continue to discuss and or engage with our trading partners and neighbours on issues of mutual interest and Batswana interest will be paramount,” he said. He was however, quick to admit that what is still of concern is the lack of market organisation in this sector. He said agricultural investment opportunities are characterised by the emerging sub- sectors that hold a lot of potential and room for further investment, which include, grain, horticulture, dairy, small- stock, beef, poultry, piggery and aquaculture. Molao noted that government remains convinced that the agricultural sector’s contribution to the Gross Domestic Product ( GDP) is key, hence their commitment to work around the clock to develop and improve the sector. He said Agro Processing is one of the most important subsectors with food and beverages representing the largest component of processed commodities. “Let me hasten to state that it remains undeveloped, as processed food products contribute about 72.3 percent of the total food products such as leathers, horns and eggshells.” Molao said his ministry appeals to the nation to utilise opportunities in the sub- sector value chains since the bulk of the import bill comes from processed commodities, and that the ministry continues to provide capacity building to the farming community through farmer training facilities. The programmes provide the practical industry- led, livestock management training through tailored technical assistance.
The objective of these programmes is to improve productivity through improved livestock husbandry practices. He said the annual production of fresh vegetables and fruits has been showing an increase over the previous seasons and quantities of 53 983 tonnes and 75 448.92 tonnes in 2019/ 2020 respectively have been recorded. Molao said this clearly shows that the strategies put in place are giving positive results. However, the lack of market organisation remains the only blight. He added that it is only through collaboration, sharing of information that players can take their rightful space in this sector and dictate the price rather than being price takers.