14 Oct 2025

Farmers in Ngamiland have expressed mixed feelings over the Botswana Meat Commission (BMC) Direct Cattle Purchase programme. 

In an interview on Monday following BMC’s announcement of the plan, some argued that the P16 per kg price was too low while others said it would  motivate farmers to sell more cattle to the abattoir.  Those against the P16 per kg said it would  paralyse the beef industry and called for a better price. 

“We appreciate the efforts made to buy live cattle from us but the rate is too low because we thought  the price will remain the same as buying Cold Dressed Mass (CDM) at P38 per kg. BMC has been unlawfully buying cattle from farmers. The abattoir has been paying for the carcass only while other products such as intestines were not catered for hence we called for buying of live weight cattle so that we reap good returns,” said Mr Simon Bojosi. 

He said they expected the BMC to engage farmers before  setting the price instead of imposing their price on the farming community  BMC is mandated to promote the interests of the livestock producing industry, by buying and slaughtering cattle as per the BMC act but that is not the case as the abattoir rope farmers by purchasing carcass, Mr Bojosi said. 

He said buying live weight cattle at P16 per kg would not address their concerns because doing so would still render cattle farming less profitable. Instead, he said BMC could have consulted farmers, to allow them to come up with suggestions regarding the pricing. 

He said pastoral farming was an important vehicle of economic growth for the Ngamiland region  and as such their hope was on  on BMC to ensure cattle access to rewarding markets. 

He also called for implementation of the Control of Livestock Industry Act which regulated the purchase, sale and trade of livestock through licensing and permits system. 

Another farmer, Mr Gilson Saleshando said he did not accept the rate because it failed to reflect BMC’s role of protecting the interests of the livestock producing industry. 

Mr Saleshando was concerned that the majority of the farmers were not familiar with the BMC Act hence the commission’s management was making some decisions without their input. This, he said,  showed that the commission was not neccessarily targeting to enhance the beef industry. 

On the other hand, some farmers welcomed the new purchase approach, saying  farmers would have options to sell live weight or sell through the CDM model as it was the case. Mr Killer Ledimo hailed the model of buying live weight cattle it would ensure adequate supply of animals to the abattoir. 

“BMC is the only entity that supports cattle producers and if it shuts down due to shortage of supply, that will be a draw back because there will be no market for us. We do accept the new rate even though some deem too low but we should appreciate that the abattoir has relieved us of the financial burden of transporting the animals and caring for them while at the quarantine facility,” he said. ENDS