23 Apr 2023

Minister of Agriculture, Mr Fidelis Molao has assured farmers in Ngamiland that  cattle from the Zone 6B where the Foot and Mouth Disease (FMD) outbreak occurred last year will not mix with those in their area.

 He said during his visit to the Maun Botswana Meat Commission (BMC) abattoir recently. 

  “Before cattle are transported to Maun they undergo checks and inspections for FMD and cattle slaughtered in Maun are not FMD infected,” Mr Molao said.

He also informed farmers that depopulation of cattle in 6B was in compliance with International Animal Health codes to contain and manage the disease where FMD cases had been detected.

“Ever since the commencement of slaughter exercise, a total of 3 457 cattle from 6B have been slaughtered at the Maun abattoir. However, the exercise was halted on April 2 to pave way for Ngamiland cattle slaughter to strike a balance by effecting a rotational process,” he added.

Again, he said the last batch of the 6B cattle slaughter was scheduled to start on April 23 with a total of 2 543 to be processed in 22 days. 

He indicated that slaughtering of 6B cattle had put the Maun plant under strain hence encouraged staff to ensure that the plant was serviced at all times so that it did not crash. Conversely, Mr Molao commended BMC for their new strategy that aimed to expedite the payment system which he said would motivate more farmers to sell their cattle trusting to be paid on time.

For his part, Maun abattoir plant manager, Mr Ishmael Ramorula told farmers that BMC’s 2022/2025 strategy aimed to speed up payment to be done in five days instead of 14 days. 

Mr Ramorula said the Maun abattoir had also upgraded charges to match other abattoirs countrywide charging P31 per kilogramme with transportation subsidy for farmers.

He added that the abattoir received cattle from public and private quarantines where they spent 30 days then transported to Maun for slaughter.

“Slaughter of the 6B cattle has put pressure on the plant, predominantly the refrigeration system and resulted in boreholes pumping frequently,” he said. ends