19 Dec 2021

The restrictions on the importation of  horticultural  products has  been hailed as a life  changing initiative.

In a statement presented to Parliament on Friday, Assistant Minister of Agricultural Development and Food Security, Ms Beauty Manake said cabinet early this month approved a long-term restriction of the importation of selected horticultural products which Botswana has the capacity and potential  to produce to self sufficiency such as tomatoes, carrots , beetroot, cabbage lettuce, garlic, onion, butternuts, water melon, ginger, tamaric, peppers  and fresh herbs.

She said the restrictions would start on January 1 and that they would be subjected to seasonal and  periodical reviews every two years

Ms  Manake noted  that the implementation of the  horticultural importation regulations had led to an increase of  vegetable production by at least 24  per cent from 2015 to 2020 with the country subsequently growing about 60 per cent of the country’s vegetable demand.

In addition, she said the ministry in the 2020/2021 ploughing season introduced an impact acceleration subsidy to the  tune of P20 million to increase horticultural production and address issues of food insecurity during the COVID-19 pandemic.

“In promotion of export  lead  economy, export promotion is  key and the country has already exported 552 tonnes of carrots to Zambia and 1 404 tonnes of potatoes to Namibia during the  ploughing season  ending  2021,” she said.

Furthermore, she  said government  in 2009 restricted  importation of  eggs and day old chicks under the control of  goods to build value chain of hatchery and breeder farms.

Minister  Manake noted that the country was currently implementing an infant industry protection on ultra high  temperature (UHT)  milk.

The infant industry protection, she said, would entail an additional levy of 40 per cent on UHT milk in addition to the normal import  duties charged  on UHT milk.

This, she said, would lead to the import substitution of aforementioned vegetables and  increase the consumption of local  produce as well as enhance local food security and increase  employment  creation.

She said the move would further impact on income tax and economic diversification.

Ms Manake said the horticultural industry was globally stable due to easy accessibility of horticultural farm inputs like seeds and packaging materials  which were readily available at competitive  prices worldwide and could be easily imported  through the Walvis Bay port in Namibia. She added that the port was projected to be a commercial path for trade  in Botswana.

She explained that a holistic approach to address demand, pricing and seasonality of horticultural produce would include  facilitating adherence to quality standards such as good agricultural practices and  product traceability through the  implementation of  a agricultural marketing application called AGRIMA.

The  AGRIMA project, she said, was a  collaboration between the  Ministry of Agricultural  Development and Food Security and the private sector to digitise  information on local agricultural production, which would enhance  sufficiency in food production and the establishment of a  visual market for produce. ENDS