29 Jun 2021

The Botswana Agricultural Marketing Board (BAMB) is expected to commission a stock feed milling plant soon, to end cattle farmers’ stock feed woes nationwide. 

Speaking during an agricultural business and industrialisation tour of a  farm belonging to Kokotsha cattle baron, Mr Hannes Dijee  in Kokotsha recently, BAMB head of commercial and business development, Ms Kopano Mokobi said the feed milling plant would produce stock feed using locally sourced products. 

Ms Mokobi noted that the project had long been on cards but was delayed by COVID-19, adding that they were in the process of procuring equipment to ensure that all branches were adequately resourced. 

She said the development would ensure that farmers got better prices and got return on investment as the feed would be produced conveniently. 

“We have started to place containers at some of our branches,” she said. On another development, she said they had rolled out a new strategy, a ‘Bushvet’ package to reach out to farmers in rural and remote areas, which would comprise of a veterinary officer to diagnose on the spot, veterinary tools and stock medicines to assist farmers at once. 

She said the veterinary officer would make timely assessments of stock needs and address them. 

The development, Ms Mokobi said came at an affordable fee of P2.16 per kilometre and encouraged farmers to use the service. 

Meanwhile, Mr Dijee decried the inadequate supply of feeds at BAMB branches, saying that most of the feed was from South Africa and was not readily available. 

He also said Kgalagadi grappled with both shortage of water and inadequate pasture during dry and drought seasons, hence the need for a feed processing plant. 

He also complained about shortage of land, predators, theft as well as lack of electricity in farms, saying availing electricity could help increase stock. He therefore called on  government to subsidise electricity prices for farmers. 

He also decried the Botswana Meat Commission (BMC) monopoly, saying it took longer for one to get paid after selling to the BMC, while one would get paid within 24 hours of a sale of live cattle export. 

The tour was led by the Assistant Minister of Agricultural Development and Food Security, Ms Beauty Manake, who later visited Agrifeed, a private stock feed entity  in Tsabong where she appreciated the private sector’s role of serving farmers in the district. 

She said feed retailers were important partners, who thrived in the Kgalagadi district, where farmers needed their service the most due to arid conditions. 

Agrifeed representative, Ms Lorato Kesenkilwe said the business, which supplied agricultural inputs and animal feed was thriving through the support of government and farmers, adding that plans were underway to open other branches. 

For his part, Kgalagadi South Member of Parliament, Mr Sam Brooks noted that the business was one of the few private sector players in the stock feed industry in the district. 

He said such businesses encountered challenges hence the need for government to continue supporting them. 

He called on other players to join in as competition was critical to improve pricing and service delivery. Ends