Local farmers meet 70% demand for potatoes, tomatoes
Mompati Tlhankane | Tuesday August 30, 2022 07:00
In January, the Government of Botswana through the Ministry of Agriculture imposed an import ban on certain vegetables. The ban which came into effect on January 1 targeted 16 vegetables such as onions, butternut, tomatoes, watermelons, carrots, potatoes, cabbage, and ginger.
The ban was intended to support local farmers, increase national food security by encouraging local vegetable production and improve horticulture competitiveness. The ban was also meant to alleviate climate change effects, develop the agriculture value chain and foster citizen empowerment. “I stand here today proud to report back to you that our implementation is bearing fruit. We have made strides in the right direction and managed to achieve several projects. We launched the horticulture scheme where government pays 50% for agricultural initiatives.
The limiting of importation of certain agricultural products is intended to encourage you all to go into agricultural production in a significant way. It is extremely encouraging to note that as of August 10, 2022, Botswana is now able to meet over 70% of the national demand for potatoes and tomatoes,” he highlighted.
Masisi’s announcement comes after months of ups and downs in the horticulture industry. In February, a month into the ban, the Local Enterprise Authority (LEA) estimated that local production of the 16 crops currently restricted from being imported into the country, will have to be more than doubled to meet local demand.
Three crops, in particular, potatoes, tomatoes, and onions accounted for 53% of the horticultural import bill. At the time, local production of potatoes accounted for 49% of national demand, while tomatoes accounted for 44% of national demand and onions 49%. Back then, commercial farmers in Pandamatenga told this publication that they have enough capacity, infrastructure, and expertise to more than meet the nation’s demand for horticultural products. However, they said that for vegetable production to thrive particularly in the Pandamatenga area, irrigation is necessary because of the uneven distribution of rainfall throughout the year, especially during critical crop growth periods. Shortly after the ban, local consumers complained of shortages of the three vegetables and others since the ban came into effect, with experts saying the restrictions had exposed the supply chain weaknesses between local producers and major retailers.
Apart from shortages, the ban escalated prices and worsened consumers’ predicament. Consumers also complained that where local production is available, the quality was not always up to standard. The supply chain weaknesses meant the unreliable availability of key vegetables such as tomatoes, onions, and potatoes. Now that the figure stands at 70% it means that since January Botswana has increased output to fill the supply gap induced by the import ban. The high vegetable prices forced farmers to channel more resources to farming the banned vegetables.
This then led to an increase in supply and the subsequent fall in prices of most of the banned vegetables. Nevertheless, complaints of poor quality and shortages were still being raised by consumers. In April, the ban on importation of these vegetable varieties into the country from South Africa and other veggie-export countries started keeping the police on their toes. Smugglers continued to elude border authorities to bring vegetables into the country.
Despite these concerns raised about low supply and poor quality of produce and smuggling, in May, Agriculture Minister Fidelis Molao indicated that the vegetable import ban is not only ‘here to stay’ but will possibly be expanded to include more produce in the next two years. Molao said the horticultural import ban was a necessary step to support the country’s farmers and build agricultural independence.