We saw the ban on horticultural produce imports into our nation go into effect in December of last year. 16 additional crops were added to the list of prohibited produce this year in May. This was done to encourage Batswana to support local businesses and to encourage our local horticultural producers to grow more crops to feed the country. The public’s reaction to this were mixed at first because the country was experiencing shortages of certain economic cash crops, such as tomatoes, onions, and bell peppers, while other crops, such as potatoes, saw their prices skyrocket to the point where a bag (10 kg) of potatoes was selling for P160. A bag of potatoes now costs P40, indicating the increase in the amount of produce that is now offered in retail stores. With the majority of producers engaged in small-scale farming, this horticultural ban has undoubtedly encouraged local farmers and agriculture graduates to venture into production. However, this renders other horticultural value chain niches unexplored.
Botswana does have agricultural-related companies that provide seeds, pesticides, and horticultural inputs like irrigation, borehole drilling, nurseries, and sales and supply of fertilizers. To help with produce harvesting, our farmers also hire ad hoc laborers. The potential of the other value chain maps, including those for transportation, storage, trading, warehousing, processing, and wholesaling, is still untapped. We have NaPro, which is the nation’s largest agro-processor, even though less than 5% of the population is brave enough to explore with agro-processing on a small scale. So rather than the majority of the population going into production, let’s be creative and find other ways to improve our horticultural value chain to raise the productivity of the country’s agriculture.
Our horticultural value chain in Botswana is straightforward and easy to understand. Without using a middleman, producers grow, harvest, and sell their produce directly to consumers, restaurants, and retail establishments. Horticultural consultancy services that include all plant growth experts such as soil microbiologists, plant pathologists, entomologists, agrometeorologists, and soil scientists, offer precise expert advice on production from the time your crop is sown until harvesting, are other niches one can explore in the production stage. Produce harvesting can be a very labour-intensive process, depending on the size of the farm and the economic crop sown. To reduce harvest loss, it is crucial to employ well-trained casual labourers. The next step is transportation and logistics. A citizen-owned transportation and logistics company that transports fresh produce from farms to retailers should exist. What we observe is that retail businesses own transport vehicles. Some farmers deliver their produce to metropolitan restaurants, so they need logistics companies to move the vegetables. There are several ways to enter this market, including owning a logistics business with cold rooms built into the trucks to ensure produce is always fresh.
Whilst the produce is still waiting to be sold to retailers and vendors, starting a cold storage business is very feasible for farmers to be able to store their fresh produce for a longer period of time so as to minimize harvest loss. Fresh horticultural produce prices are not regulated in Botswana, which results in price variations between sellers of the same crop. As a result, some farmers are unable to profit from their produce because the majority of these large retailers purchase fresh produce at a discount before raising the price to increase profits. Fresh horticultural produce must be marketed and sold, and an agricultural sales commission agent is needed to help the farmer sell their goods at a profit. The government should also consider enacting legislation to control the cost of fresh horticultural produce, which will be advantageous to all parties.
Big retailers in Botswana own Wholesalers, but what about small and large-scale horticultural producers? I’m confident that lending organizations can provide funding to Batswana for the construction of fully furnished warehouses suitable for horticultural produce that can be leased to small and/or medium-sized horticultural vendors. Farmers can also look into the technologies and equipment needed to construct a small warehouse on their property so they can store their produce for a longer period of time. Our nation is still falling behind in the value addition of our horticultural products. However, let’s commend small and/or medium-sized citizen-owned agro-processing companies that transform perishable horticultural products into sauces, chutneys, jams, pastes, and other products.
Turning perishables that have gone bad into compost and green manure that will be sold to farmers and improve the soils for production is another area of interest in the agro-processing. According to scientific theory, some perishables can develop into botanicals (used for therapeutic and cosmetic purposes), such as tomatoes, which contain compounds that possess anti-cancer properties and are an ingredient in some face care products because they are thought to increase skin collagen. Ginger oil is a crucial component of some mosquito repellent brands for people who are prone to allergies in ingredients used in mosquito repellents, and other perishables like garlic can be turned into a garlic solution that control red spider mites and blight disease in tomatoes.
We appreciate the efforts made by the government, financial institutions, and private entities to help develop the entrepreneurial skills of our local farmers and agribusiness owners so they can support the expansion of Botswana’s horticultural value chain in the future. Our horticultural value chain won’t expand if agro-entrepreneurship skills are lacking. Additionally, because it is so volatile, financial institutions should think about developing an insurance program for farmers in all sectors. The horticultural industry can benefit from specific insurance plans like crop insurance, which protects against the risk of weather and pest-related crop loss, and horticultural input insurance, which covers the cost of maintaining farm machinery, borehole maintenance, and fence maintenance. There are various insurance plans that also include maintenance of agricultural processing equipment, cold storage facilities, and horticultural warehouse facilities.
There are many possibilities for enhancing our horticultural value chain. The youth have majority of these ideas and yet have little support in turning them into reality. We thus appeal to various organizations for assistance in pursuing all of these market niches that will ultimately strengthen our economy.
