30 Mar 2023

Parliament has been informed that the dispensation of live cattle export does not allow export of breeding cattle. 

 Minister of Transport and Public Works, Mr Eric Molale said this when responding to a parliamentary question on behalf of the Minister of Agriculture this week. 

Mr Molale said the general cattle population according to statistics Botswana’s Annual Agricultural Survey of 2015 was 1 742 999, of which 1 160 816 were females. The minister said the plan was already in place since female cattle were not exported, adding that government and the Ministry of Agriculture acknowledged the declining cattle herd hence a number of initiatives were in place to increase the number of cattle in the country. 

“Revised Artificial Insemination programme is yet to include breeding technologies such as embryo transfer and female synchronization and outsourcing of some Artificial Insemination farms to private sector to improve efficiency,” he said. 

Mr Molale also noted that intensifying extension outreach would help promote livestock production.  “Implementation of beef strategy, capacity building through Land Based Training as a result of collaboration between the governments of Botswana and New Zealand and production of fodder coupled with active surveillance of reproductive livestock diseases shall increase availability of livestock feed,” he said. 

Nata/Gweta Member of Parliament, Mr Polson Majaga had asked the minister to brief Parliament on how the export of female cattle had affected the number of breeding stock in the country. 

He also wanted to know the current number of female cattle in the country and to understand if there were any plans to prohibit exporting and killing MP Majaga also asked whether the ministry was intending to undertake some research to find ways of increasing the number of female cattle and to come up with livestock production technologies. ENDS