14 Dec 2015

Ngamiland councillors are  excited at the prospect of exporting donkey meat and hides to China.

This came in the backdrop of a Chinese investor, Dr Daniel Wong, who sought to export donkey meat and hides to China, something which councillors welcomed stating that it would substitute the failing beef industry in the area due to the Foot and Mouth Disease (FMD).

Councillors said the project, which was being piloted at Lentsweletau in the Kweneng District, was a welcome development as it would create employment opportunities.

They learnt that there was high demand for donkey meat in China while donkey hides were used for medicine. 

Some councillors requested that an abattoir be opened in the district so that the community could sell their donkeys nearer.

Cllr Saoqho Kotongwa of Seronga/Gunotsoga said they were ready to supply donkeys noting that the donkey population was high in the district. Cllr Gaopalelwe Ronald of Nxamasera/Samuchima said many people did not know that they could make a living with a donkey. 

He said the market would encourage people to value donkeys and take care of them.

Earlier on, Mr Slyvester Matlho of Development Advance Institute explained that the project had not yet started but they had done trials and realised that it was a viable project that could address issues of unemployment amongst young people.

He said all they asked from Batswana was to supply donkeys for slaughter and export hides to China. 

The prices of buying donkeys ranged between P300-P500.

He said in the meantime, exporting of meat would be suspended due to financial constraints as they needed proper facilities as per the ministry of agriculture requirements.

He said the exportation of donkey hides was ideal as it did not need too much funding. 

The meat was currently being processed to make food for dogs.

Mr Matlho explained that Kweneng District had allocated them a slaughtering slab adding that they were looking forward to having more slabs in different districts.

He said they were considering the establishment of a fully-fledged abattoir in the near future. He encouraged residents to brand their donkeys on the neck for easy identification and avoid theft. For his part, the Chinese investor, Dr Wong said the project was good business particularly in Botswana. 

He also pointed out that donkey meat and hides were in high demand in his country but it was impossible to get enough from around the world because of political issues.

He said on average, they needed 100 000 donkeys a month but it was impossible to achieve that hence he appealed to Batswana to assist in the supply of more donkeys. He also urged anybody who is interested in partnering in this project to join him. Ends