As government plans to increase the list of vegetables which have been banned for imports, it has since surfaced that 296 new commercial farmers have merged to venture into the multi-million industry.
The Deputy Director of Crop Production in the Ministry of Agriculture Diirilwe Matoto said before the import ban was imposed they had 1294 farmers and 1590 after implementation of the ban.
“This shows an increase of 296 farmers. Horticultural production is a commercial entity because of the amount of investment involved. Therefore any farmer venturing into horticulture is a commercial farmer,” said Matoto.
Matoto highlighted that since the imposition of the ban, the common horticulture crops entails cabbage, tomato, onion, citrus, potato, carrots, beetroots, butternut and sweet pepper. He added that they are planning to encourage more production of other crops which are seemingly rare.
“Adverse climatic conditions such as heat waves, floods, hail storms as well as low temperatures affect production quantities. Market for production is currently lucrative provided farmers adequately market themselves,” added Matoto.
He highlighted that the monthly production of vegetables amounts to 5000-8000 tonnes/month. Recently government stated that the ban on importation of vegetables has reduced the country’s import bill from P375.5 million in 2021 to P176.9 million in 2022.
On the other hand, Botswana Horticulture Council Chairperson Mogomotsi Moatswi said there is still a lot that can be done to attract more commercial farmers to the sector.
“We still have a problem with accessing local markets and in some instances when there is access, we then fail to agree on product pricing, so we thought that government was going to assure us of the market,” said Moatswi.
He added that if government can assure farmers of the local markets, more people will flood the farming industry with the knowledge that they will reap their investment.
The horticulture chairman also said establishing collection centres to allow retailers to have one pick up point can help around issues of traceability in the event there are concerns on certain produce from a certain region or zone.
“We spend more time selling our produce than planting and this can be addressed if we do things right,” he said.
Moatswi also advised government to benchmark in South Africa where farming has been simplified for farmers to ensure that it is profitable.
“We are always open to engage with government to make the farming industry more exciting and attractive because certain policies have been established to improve our sector and we are willing to take it to the next level,” said Moatswi.
Following the ban on importation of horticulture produce, government has emphasised that the ban will be reviewed seasonally.
During a consultative meeting in Takatokwane on Friday, President Mokgweetsi Masisi said cabinet has resolved to add more vegetables to the list as this will encourage self-reliance and industrialisation of the sector.
