02 Dec 2021

The National Artificial Insemination Laboratory and Training Centre in Ramatlabama has the potential to open opportunities for Botswana to expand into Africa through the African Continental Free Trade Agreement (AfCFTA).

  “A facility like this one can mean a lot as it can supply all kinds of semen collected from Botswana. Since it is data driven and evidence based, Batswana can be trained and up-skilled right here at the facility to do artificial insemination and provide services to Africa taking advantage of the AfCFTA.”

   This was said by President Dr Mokgweetsi  Masisi in an interview following a tour of the facility Wednesday.

Launched in January, AfCFTA aims to create a single African market for goods and services, facilitate movement of persons, promote industrial development as well as sustainable and inclusive socio-economic growth on the continent. 

President Masisi said the livestock sub-sector was  an area that Botswana could tap into to expand into the African market.

To that end the centre could provide a diversity of services especially semen collection and storage as well as courses on artificial insemination and ranch management, he said.

Dr Masisi encouraged farmers to utilise the facility to build on the skills they already had.

The President also spoke of the need to replicate the service centre and provision of outreach services to farmers. 

“One can replicate services like this at their farms to provide space for others.  A whole market can be integrated in, where we can have an auction or trading of semen. We can have education platforms where data collected from a particular semen is shared for farmers to learn more about what indicators mean,” he said.

The National Artificial Insemination Laboratory and Training Centre principal scientific officer Mr Motshegetsi Senku said the 71-year-old lab was initially used as both a diagnostic and training facility.

 It assumed its current semen distribution centre mandate in 1966, he said.

Mr Senku said the facility produced and distributed semen to farmers and other government artificial insemination centres or camps.

It also conducted bull fertility tests, offered training on herd health, selection and breeding, farm business, nutrition and pasture management, he said.

Mr Senku said in collaboration with New Zealand government, the centre  trained 1 742 farmers on beef production in the first phase of the programme.

In the second phase, he said,  54 farmers had been trained,  28 of them on artificial insemination techniques. 

“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. 

President Masisi also had the opportunity to tour the bull testing facility at the Good Hope government ranch.ends