02 Feb 2020

President Dr Mokgweetsi Masisi says the National Artificial Insemination Laboratory and Training Centre in Ramatlabama has the potential to make Botswana a flourishing cattle production hub.

Speaking during the tour of the centre on January 31, President Masisi indicated that the expertise at the centre should be used to produce more cattle breeds for the domestic and export market.

Consequently, he promised that the centre would, in the near future, be sufficiently developed and equipped to reach higher levels of output. 

“We are going to develop this centre in the next financial year to make it more productive. 

It should also aim to produce best quality semen for this country and also for export,” he said.

The facility has various breed of bulls for production of high quality semen straws. 

It also has a training centre for cattle farmers. 

President Masisi further said his administration viewed the livestock sub-sector as an area that Botswana could tap into so to expand into the African market using the Africa Continental Free Trade Agreement.

“We must be hungry to capture the market and farm for Africa. 

I want the objective of this centre to change to stop only looking regionally or nationally. 

You must look continentally and even internationally. 

The country must produce knowledge and sell it,” he said. 

Minister of Agricultural Development and Food Security, Dr Edwin Dikoloti pointed that the facility evolved into semen distribution centre over the years, following on its original objective of producing livestock inspectors and serving as veterinary and diagnostic laboratory in the 1960s. 

“The facility has been very useful to the local farming community and the nation at large in the improvement of the livestock sub-sector,” he said.

He said the artificial insemination programme had assisted in the introduction of more breeds, which helped to improve the quality of cattle in Botswana. 

The centre principal, Mr Motshegetsi Senku said they also had a laboratory for conducting fertility test on bulls as well as semen storage. 

“We have around 364 000 straws of semen for different breeds of bulls. 

Eighty per cent of them are beef breeds while the rest are dairy ones,” Mr Senku said.  

He added that the training centre offered four modules on cattle diseases, cattle food and nutrition, taking care of grazing areas as well as animal breeding and selection. 

He also said they provided teaching on farm records. ENDS