29 May 2023

Botswana Agricultural Marketing Board (BAMB) has opened Setlhoa Farmers Grand Store to bring services closer to people.

Speaking at the opening ceremony, BAMB acting CEO, Mr Lameck Nthekela said the store was motivated by BAMB’s five-year strategy, which includes revamping 10 of their branches by changing their feel and look.

Mr Nthekela said among the list of branches awaiting a facelift was Gaborone West, which was the flagship. 

“Gaborone West branch has been quite pressed and cannot even meet the demand of our Gaborone customers and other villages within the vicinity,” he said.

He said the villages in the greater Gaborone usually visited the branch for certain items not found in their areas, adding, ‘...we thought it would be great to spread our wings and get even closer to those around Gaborone North and beyond, hence Setlhoa Farmers Grand Store.”

Strategically located, Mr Nthekela said the store would be convenient even for farmers who were exiting Gaborone to Northern Botswana along A1 road.

He explained that a number of reasons came to play for them to open the Setlhoa branch, citing that already the Gaborone West unit was challenged as it was also a distribution site, which meant that they focused more on logistics and did not dwell much on servicing the front customer.

Entirely, the new face of BAMB shops meant that we looked at the different customers’ evolving needs, including the provision of ancillary services that go together with farming, he said, noting that these days emphasis was not only on animal rearing and ploughing, but items such as protective clothing and equipment remained key to the success of farmers.

Further, Mr Nthekela said the target market had also evolved with young people diving into agriculture while the playfield was also characterised by animal diseases. 

He said this, therefore, challenged them to change their gears to service the niche extensively without leaving anyone behind.

Moreover, the CEO said their product portfolio included the veterinary section, clothing unit, products and services, including medicines for animals and advisory services for farmers, from vet technicians with skills acquisition in animal husbandry and agribusiness.

Apart from medicines and vaccines, Mr Nthekela said they provided services relating to artificial insemination, adding that they provided lifestyle and camping equipment as well.

He said alongside the myriad of services at the store, they had their flagship products, which include legumes, maize, sorghum, millet, sunflower and various nuts. 

He said their partnership with Botswana Meat Commission had brought meat to their stores. Ends