29 Jul 2026

Parliament has been informed that the poultry industry has achieved self-sufficiency in chicken meat and eggs and is preparing to penetrate export markets.

Answering a question in Parliament on Tuesday, the Minister of Lands and Agriculture Dr Edwin Dikoloti said the Poultry Liaison Committee, an advisory board that had  been operational for over 15 years, was driving the success of the industry.

Dr Dikoloti said the committee convened monthly to address supply chain issues and was chaired by the private sector while the ministry served as its secretariat.  He said the poultry industry value was expected to grow from P3,5 billion to P10 billion by 2030.

Dr Dikoloti said 10 000 people were currently employed by the industry on its different value chains. The minister said the Botswana Livestock Commercialisation Project (BoLCoP), which would be launched in October in partnership with International Fund for Agriculture Development (IFAD), would commercialise small livestock value chains including poultry.

Dr Dikoloti said the current national demand for poultry meat was approximately 50 000 tonnes annually, while the demand for table eggs was 13 million dozens of eggs. He said the poultry sector continued to be the best performing sub-sector under the Ministry of Lands and Agriculture. “It plays a significant role in the country’s economy and in improving the livelihoods of Batswana,” he said.

The minister explained that the current annual production levels of poultry meat was 46 059 tonnes and that the table egg production stood at 14,7 million dozens of eggs. He said poultry producers in Botswana were currently producing excess poultry products in the form of Further Processed Chicken (FPC) to supplement the domestic demand. The minister said the products were supplied to Quick Service Restaurants (QSR) with the well-known name of special cuts or value-added products.

Dr Dikoloti further told Parliament that over the past three years, the poultry sector had recorded production of meat of 51 000 tonnes in the year 2022/2023 and 51 400 tonnes in 2023/2024.

“A total of 50 062.44 tonnes was produced from previous year over the target of 50 000 tonnes,” he said. The minister stated that during the financial year 2022/2023, the table eggs production recorded a total of 14,5 million dozens, while a total of 13,2 million dozens was recorded for the year 2023/2024. He said 14,7 million dozens of eggs was produced in the previous year over the target of 13 million dozens.

Dr Dikoloti was responding to a question from the MP for Shoshong Mr Moneedi Bagaisamang, who had asked the minister to state the current national demand for poultry meat and table eggs as well as the current production levels for the two.

Mr Bagaisamang had also asked whether the country was currently producing poultry products in excess of domestic demand and the extent of any surplus production recorded over the last three years. ENDS