04 Apr 2016

Botswana Agricultural Marketing Board (BAMB) says they have sufficient sorghum stock to take the country to the 2016/17 harvest season despite the two years of dry spell that the country experienced.

Responding to a questionnaire, the principal public relations officer at BAMB, Ms Kushata Modiakgotla said they have no maize grain and were in the process of replenishing it through imports.

Ms Modiakgotla  said they have about 41 000 metric tonnes of sorghum and were in the process of importing 20 000 metric tonnes of white maize and 5 000 metric tonnes of yellow maize to cater for both commercial and strategic grain reserves stock.

Regarding the envisaged harvest due to low rainfall in the current ploughing season, she said they have enough stock to last them until the next season with prospects of getting more grain from farmers in the Pandamatenga area.

Ms Modiakgotla said regarding the detailed consumption rate of cereals in the country, she said they were not in the position to state the figure as that falls under the Ministry of Trade and Industry’s mandate. 

She said they could not reveal their import bill as that would compromise the confidentiality with their clients.

 She said previously they sourced cereals from Zambia, Malawi and South Africa, including sorghum from the United States of America and Australia. Ends