01 Jun 2022

Botswana Meat Commission (BMC) has decided to maintain the European Union (EU) incentive scheme prices beyond May.

BMC livestock procurement manager, Mr Motlhokomedi Gaetshetse said in an interview that in January this year the commission introduced a limited time incentive scheme, that was  aimed at incentivising farmers to sell cattle to it. The scheme had been scheduled to end May.

Mr Gaetshetse said the package reviewed the penalty for measles, which farmers considered steep, as well as reduction of payment turnaround to at least 14 days after procurement completion date.

He said the scheme saw buying prices for carcass dressed mass increase to P42  from P39 per kg.

This, he said, was aimed at making BMC competitive.

Given farmers’ response to the scheme,  which saw BMC receiving 12 549 cattle between January and May compared to only 4 477 during the same period last year, the organisation had decided to maintain the prices, he said.

Mr Gaetshetse revealed that more farmers were willing to register and convert their farms into EU-compliant holdings to take advantage of the lucrative price.

He said that was beneficial to BMC as it could now proficiently and satisfactorily serve its market with quality produce.   

Mr Gaetshetse encouraged farmers to ensure they sold quality cattle to BMC.

On the issue of turnaround time, Mr Gaetshetse explained that BMC worked with commercial banks, which required farmers to provide Know Your Customer information, to avoid payment delays and other inconveniences. ends