04 Apr 2024

The Vice President, Mr Slumber Tsogwane, has said the Ramatlabama Artificial Insemination and Training Centre is open to all including farmers associations across the country, church members and different political party affiliates across Botswana. 

Mr Tsogwane said this during the visit by the Botswana Democratic Party (BDP) central committee members, saying it will ensure that more Batswana will gain insight on what is being done at centre as the expectations is for them to go and teach fellow Batswana. 

Mr Tsogwane said the facility is not just a farm but a lab and most people will benefit from it even if they do not have cattle as they can always learn how to do AI and help farmers across the country and even in the region. 

He said the visit afforded them first hand information that will enable them to go back to their respective districts and educate other Batswana on how and what they can reap from the camp. 

“This visit serves as a celebration and to bear witness that indeed everyone can benefit, unlike some people who spread untruthful stories that it is for the elite few,” he said. “The centre is intended to achieve social justice, to fight poverty in rural areas and to maintain livelihoods.” 

He said the central committee members will have a chance to go and teach Batswana that, if they do not afford expensive bulls at auctions, they can always go to the Ramatlabama AI camp and get semen for their preferred breeds at a cheaper price. 

Furthermore, he said, when all is done, Botswana will be able to export semen of the bulls that were recently purchased from America. 

The visit was fruitful because the members went on to appreciate and learn that Batswana will in the near future be able to access not just sexed semen but also embryo transplant for dairy cows, including small stock. 

Members of the central committee who were part of the tour said they will be in a better position to tell other Batswana about the services they could get from the camp because they now have first hand information, unlike the news they have been getting from the grapevine that the bulls are dying and most of them are not in good health. 

Mr Ngaka Ngaka opined that indeed the camp is a blessing to Batswana since they offer quality service at reasonable prices. 

He said some people have been discrediting government that money was wasted in buying the bulls, while in actual fact the decision will benefit farmers from all walks of life in improving the genetics of their livestock. 

Mr Ngaka urged the staff to ensure that they must have targets as to when they think government will be able to export semen. 

He said they must ensure that they go out and reach every corner of Botswana to sell the services to the people, noting that even though it is very clear that the services offered are the best, some people are still in the dark as to what exactly they can get from the camp. 

Meanwhile, the Goodhope Council Chairman, Mr Fankie Motsholathebe, said the district leadership was thankful to government for having taken the decision to keep the bulls in the district. 

He pointed out that with renovations and construction going on at the camp, there was no doubt that the landscape of Ramatlabama will be transformed. 

“We hope that in future even the tourism and hotel industry will be resuscitated because when all is done, people will start frequenting the camp to acquire services,” adding that it is for that reason that investors need to come on board to build lodges. 

He too reiterated Vice President Tsogwane’s words that the camp was open to all Batswana irrespective of their political and religious affiliation. 

Meanwhile, the BDP delegation also learnt that the Ministry of Agriculture was busy at work renovating and upgrading a multi-purpose lab for artificial insemination and embryo transplant for small stock and cattle at the camp, with the intention of turning the facility into a centre of excellence. Ends