27 Jul 2020

Botswana Agricultural Marketing Board (BAMB) Chief Executive Officer, Mr Leonard Morakaladi says this season’s harvest outlook is good.

Briefing the media in Gaborone on Saturday Mr Morakaladi said BAMB’s silos had capacity to hold 40 000 metric tonnes of sorghum and the board was anticipating extra 20 000 to 25 000 metric tonnes.

Mr Morakaladi added that the country consumed close to 35 000 to 40 000 metric tonnes of sorghum hence there was surplus of sorghum.

The country also has a surplus in beans, that would normally be  traded with partners across the border.

He said this year they received good surplus of grains because of farmers efforts.

“We are looking at net effect of 118 per cent growth compared to last year. We are looking at spending around P400 million  buying grain from farmers, compared to last year’s expenditure of about P160 million which really shows the growth that we have experienced in this particular season,” said Mr Morakaladi.

He said the growth was partly a result of interventions introduced together with the ministry of agriculture in some parts of the country.

These, he said included the use of drone technology, efforts in controlling locusts in Ngami and Chobe area.

He also pointed out that BAMB provided support such as agronomy services, where soil tests were done, and there were discussion on diseases around the crops.

BAMB has also taken a decision to assist smaller farmers who were not contracted by BAMB to safeguard their crops because the board realised that most of them had put in good efforts in producing food.

He explained that BAMB would buy their crops on contract prices with maize bought for P2500 per tonne and beans at P9000 per tonne or P450 per bag.

Mr Morakaladi highlighted that this was done to create awareness around contract farming and that the prices are protected when you a farmer has a  contract with BAMB.

He said price of maize, because of bumper harvest in South Africa prices were steadily going down but those contracted were protected from the decline in prices.

Some of the interventions is the technical support from agronomists, which are young graduates from Botswana University of Agriculture and Natural Resources (BUAN) who went for training in  Israel.

He said the agronomists were proving to be useful in terms of services and interventions that were given to farmers and not only crop farmers but the horticulture sector as well.

He said Farmers are also assisted in regards to collection of harvest as the trucks are sent to various areas, hence farmers needed to work collectively by grouping themselves in central locations for easy collection of their produce. ENDS