16 Jul 2026

The radiant dance of golden light before evening cast a golden glow across the serene landscape as an epic scene unfolded at Milk Valley Farm nestled between the rolling hills of Lobatse.

The dairy farm was bustling with activity on Monday marking a historic moment for the country as many witnessed the imperial arrival of first batch of the high yielding, prominent tropical Girolando dairy cattle from Brazil.

The government-owned picturesque state of the art Milk Valley Farm, equipped with highly automated systems stood proudly on the charming hilly area to receive the solid black and roan white curious herd of bovine heifers.

“The animals are doing very well. We are working together with a team of veterinary experts on the project to ensure the acclimatisation goes according to plan. We also roped in a nutritionist who is balancing feed ration to match with what the animals were fed in Brazil as they transition to what they will be fed in Botswana. All is going well, the cattle are calm and there is not much being observed at this juncture,” said Milk Valley Farm interim general manager, Mr Onkemetse Bareki in an interview.

He said the arrival of the Girolando dairy cattle was part of strategic and robust flagship dairy project expansion plan adding that it was running parallel to the construction of cow houses in preparation for the other batch that would follow in due course,

“We are on track as planned and we expect everything to be completed early next year,” he said.  

Botswana Development Corporation (BDC) managing director, Mr Oteng Keabetswe said the project was targeted at transforming Milk Valley Farm into a large-scale commercial dairy operation.

So far, he said they have received 186 of pregnant Girolando dairy cattle from Brazil marking the commencement of a phased importation programme that would see 1 000 dairy cattle introduced to Milk Valley Farm anticipated to be completed within a period of 18 to 24 months.

Additionally, Mr Keabetswe said the arrival of dairy cattle followed an achievement by Milk Valley Farm as it was recently awarded a Foot and Mouth Disease (FMD)-Free Dairy Compartment Status by the Department of Veterinary Service. This he noted reinforced confidence in the farm's operational integrity, animal welfare standards and disease prevention systems, while positioning the farm to pursue future export opportunities for dairy cattle and fresh milk as well as boost local dairy production.

He said to support the Milk Valley Farm expansion programme, BDC had invested significantly in the development of modern dairy infrastructure which included water supply systems, dairy housing, feed regime, farm mechanisation, breeding technologies and strengthened biosecurity measures.

“These investments are designed to support long-term productivity, sustainability and operational efficiency as the project continues to scale,” he said.

He said in terms of the dairy value chains they were looking for feed partners and will soon roll out expressions of interest.

Additionally, he said the farm occupied about 300 hectares of land and with time BDC shall invest in a milk processing plant as well as construct a research laboratory.

He highlighted that the Girolando dairy cattle had top of the range genetics adding that they would start trading in genetics as well.

Mr Keabetswe underscored that Botswana imported about 90 per cent of milk and milk products noting that the project at its full operation would reduce milk importation to 50 per cent.

“Beyond strengthening Botswana's domestic milk production capacity, Milk Valley Farm is expected to become an anchor for the development of a vibrant dairy ecosystem. The project will create direct and indirect employment, develop specialised agricultural skills, facilitate knowledge and technology transfer, and unlock meaningful opportunities for citizen participation across the entire dairy value chain,” he said. ENDS