As of 2021, Botswana’s agricultural sector has a GDP of 2.305% which is a major improvement from 2020’s GDP of -0.148%. I am proud to say that even though COVID restrictions hit us hard throughout 2020,our local horticultural farmers seized the moment and turned it out for good by maximizing production which then led to a positive improvement of the horticultural sub-sector. This was also coupled with a ban on the importation of most horticultural produce from our neighboring South-Africa and a gender and youth inclusive farming system which is slowly shifting from small scale farms of less than 5ha to medium scale farms of 5-10ha. Botswana’s horticultural value chain (HVC) primarily or solely emphasizes on primary production, but what can we as a country show of the secondary and tertiary production. Let’s go through the current trends on HVC right from inputs to trading/ retailing.
- Inputs
In order to start a successful horticultural venture, inputs such as seeds, seedlings, pesticides, fertilizers, machinery and equipment are required and more than 90% of inputs are imported from South-Africa, despite being able to locally source seeds and seedlings from the Ministry of Agriculture Nursery or independent nurseries. Even though we have a newly established organic fertilizer and seedling manufactures, the importation of fertilizers and pesticides is regulated by the Agro-chemicals act that requires one to renew their import permit annually. The prices of these imported agrochemicals are averagely markedup to 26% higher than their normal price in South-Africa. This set-back should be motivation for skilled Batswana to explore their talents in locally manufacturing agro-chemicals. In Botswana were also experiencing a lack of variety of seeds suitable for local conditions as these south-African imported seeds may not be suitable to grow in our climate. This calls for engaging skilled agricultural research scientists such as seed scientists to come up with suitable genotypes that are able to establish in our soils and withstand the climatic conditions.The positive changes in the Deeds Registry Act, the Married Persons Property Act and the amended Land Policy act in 2015 allows married women to independently own land has contributed to the increase in number of women who now own land which can be used for horticultural production. The FMT-SADC Agricultural report indicates that until 2021, 49.35% of Batswana women now own land and this has contributed positively to the HVC, which is more land, more production. Majority of horticultural producers in Botswana use groundwater for production purposes and those who farm along the river basin harvest river water to carry out their farming operations. However, groundwater in Botswana is limited both in quality and quantity. This means that in certain regions, ground water is scarce or if it is present, it is not of good quality. Irrigation is a must in horticulture, that is why majority of Botswana’s horticultural farms are located in the eastern part of the country where there water and soils are of good quality and in urban- peri-urban areas where there is access to safe treated water.
- Production
In Botswana, we have three types of horticultural farmers namely; small scale farmers (those with production under 5 hectors); Medium scale farmers (production ranging from 5- 10hectors) and Large scale farmers (production more than 10 hectors). Usually, the small scale farmers are those who are new to the sub-sector and want to start small by testing the market. The medium scale farmers are mostly found in the urban / peri-urban region of the country and the large scale farmers are mostly found in the eastern part of the country. Government incentives are more favourable to the large scale farmers because this promotes constant supply of produce. The ban on the importation of most horticultural produce has led to an increase of production as more small scale farmers shifted to medium scale production. According to statistics, majority of crops grown are tomatoes, cabbage, bell pepper, potatoes, greens and oranges and they all meet 60% of the nation’s demands. We should pride ourselves as Batswana because this is a huge improvement from the 20% of the nation’s demands which occurred in 2010 period.However, we are lagging behind in fruit production as our local produce constitutes of at least 5 % and the remaining is imported. We should look at the way countries like Egypt and the United Arab Emirates have adopted technologies for them to be able to produce their fruits locally and meet their nation’s demand. A detrimental factor that negatively affects of HVC is the prevalent occurrences of pests and diseases. Pests such as Diamond Back Moth and Tomato Leaf miner and root knot nematodes are very common in horticultural farms as they have even developed resistance to the latest agrochemical in the market. Our extension officers are also not up to date with the latest control measures of such pests hence why they recommend the same chemicals to be used indiscriminately by farmers and leading to insect resurgence and failure to control pests. Apart from the use of chemicals, there are other environmental friendly measures which can keep your crops safe from pests that can be explored and they add value to the horticultural sub-sector.
- Post- Harvest Handling
It is a sad reality that our horticultural producers do not possess the necessary skills on handling post- harvest produce. Their routine commonly involves cleaning, sorting and packaging. It is important to make sure that our perishables are healthy, do not possess toxic residues from agro-chemicals, are well packaged and are properly preserved. In Botswana, there is no company that manufactures packaging material so the entire packaging material is imported from South-Africa. The National Agro Processing Company (NaPro) which is based in Selibe Phikwe was established to add value to horticultural perishables Such as tomatoes, cabbages and beetroots into tomato sauces, tomato purees, pickled atchar, pickled beetroot and dried vegetables. These were sold under the label ‘harvest Haven’ at the Sefalana and Spar Chain Stores. Due insufficient supply of produce, the NaPro project was deemed unsuccessful. Of all the Special Economic Zones, Gaborone SSKIA, Pandamatenga and Selibe Phikwe are to focus on agro-processing and this sheds light in increasing HVC. Let’s cross fingers that this value addition will be successful and promote diversification. We do have local SMME’s engaged in value addition such as making ginger beer, marula jam, sweets and sauces, however, their availability is also determined by seasonality. We applaud the Ministry of Agriculture by almost eliminating the South African market in horticultural produce by imposing the import restriction bill. This boosted local sales and resulted in less harvest loss.
- Trading and Retailing
Selling of produce is normally from farm to retail stores. We have the Choppies Chain store, which is the major fresh produce buyer, followed by South African retail stores like Spar, PicknPay and Woolworths. Producers also sell their produce to hotels,restaurants, caterers, hawkers and even individual citizens. The Economic Inclusion Bill 2021 has influenced local cooperatives and individual citizens to supply fresh produce to institutes such as schools and hospitals, and this has contributed positively towards HVC by increasing the participation of Batswana in horticultural farming.
In a short summary, the horticultural value chain of Botswana is improving. I also encourage my fellow farmers to not only grow common crops but to increase crop diversity by farming lettuce, herbs, mushrooms, eggplants, patty pans and other vegetables we consider as luxury. By doing so, Botswana will become self-sufficient and the Government will grant the farmers wish of completely banning horticultural imports into Botswana.
