08 Mar 2017

Government has appointed KPMG to undertake the Beef market liberalisation study.
Minister of Agriculture Development and Food Security, Mr Patrick Ralotsia says however this would not prevent him from consulting with farmers on the future of the Botswana Meat Commission (BMC) abattoirs.
Addressing Central District Farmers Associations on Tuesday, Mr Ralotsia said his ministry proposed that expressions of interest be invited for the disposal of the Francistown abattoir, adding that the abattoir was a loss making entity as cattle were not reaching it.
He said since 2006 the highest number of cattle slaughtered was 57 211 against the 85 000 capacity, while the lowest was 10 000 in 2011.
He said the low number of cattle slaughtered meant that employees at the abattoir were under employed.
Mr Ralotsia said government could not continue to inject a lot of money to operate an abattoir that ran at a loss.
He said even though the Francistown abattoir had a good infrastructure, it carried more risk than the Lobatse abattoir because of its proximity to Zimbabwe, which country was grappling with the problem of Foot and Mouth Disease (FMD).
The minister said the Lobatse abattoir was the best in terms of marketing, adding that this was done to safeguard the market.
He also warned farmers against the increasing cases of measles, saying that the disease threatened the beef market.
Mr Ralotsia also urged farmers to be mindful of the vaccines and the period that they could slaughter animals after vaccination, adding that this could affect the lucrative European Union (EU) market.
He said after convening consultative fora around the country to consult all key stakeholders on the future of the BMC, he would revert to cabinet with final recommendations next month. However, farmers are against the closure of the Francistown abattoir.
Disagreeing with the closure, Mr Joseph Gaoforolwe from Sandveld Farmers Association said the Lobatse abattoir, which was established in 1933, was old, hence its infrastructure would not be able to cope with the supply of cattle.
Mr Galeforolwe added that although he supported the idea of privatising the Lobatse abattoir, government should wait for the Beef Market Liberalisation Study that was yet to be conducted to give guidance to make an informed decision on the beef sector.
The government, through the Ministry of Agriculture Development and Food Security proposed that the Lobatse abattoir be privatised, with its shareholding split between government and  a private investor.
He also commended the government’s proposal to retain Maun abattoir as government entity.
Mr Galeforolwe said the envisaged privatisation of the BMC should be compliant with the policy and be made in a way that would benefit farmers.
For his part, Botswana National Beef Producers Union chairperson, Mr Madongo Direng said the union supported the proposal to privatise BMC, adding that farmers had long advocated for a regulatory body.
“The government cannot be a player and referee at the same time,” he said. He said the government should involve farmers throughout the process until the final stage, adding, ‘we as farmers want to have a stake in the transformation process because there is no BMC without us.”
Mr Direng also shared the sentiments, saying that government should wait for the market liberalisation study before privatising the BMC.
For his part, Dr Martin Mannathoko added that whatever the decision that government would reach should be in the best interest of the beef producers. He said the Francistown abattoir was not doing well because farmers were withholding their cattle due to traceability and FMD. ENDS