Beef, crop producers in mixed fortunes
Mbongeni Mguni | Monday September 5, 2022 06:00
Last week the Department of Veterinary Services suspended all livestock movements as well as exports of live cattle and beef owing to the suspected outbreak of Foot and Mouth Disease in the northeast.
Yesterday, officials at the Met Services department said between October and December, most of the country with the exception of southwest, is expected to receive normal to above normal rainfall.
Temperatures for the period are expected to be normal to below countrywide.
“During the second half of the season, from January to March 2023, the northern parts of Botswana which include east of Ngamiland, Northern Central and Chobe Districts, will receive above normal rainfall with the remaining districts receiving normal to above rainfall. “Temperatures will be normal with a tendency to below over most areas,” the Department said.
In even better news for crop farmers, meteorologists expect that the troublesome dry spells that have wreaked havoc in recent seasons will be shorter this time around.
“(A) moderately wet season is expected over entire country, however the southwest will start off moderately dry and then progressively become wet as the season progresses,” the Department said.
“The eastern parts will receive the earliest rainfall, in mid-November, and thereafter it will spread to most other areas. “(There is a) possibility of short dry spells over the east in January and/or February (but) overall a similar season to the last is expected with fewer/shorter dry spells.”
The country’s crop production in recent seasons has been curtailed either by the late onset of rains in key agrarian zones or prolonged mid-season dry spells that have resulted in the widespread crop failure. Government has also been forced to extend the ploughing season in recent seasons and also provide varying levels of drought relief as a result.
The forecast provides the country with hope that it could boost its food security, continuing the generally improving picture painted by data provided by the Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO). An FAO report released earlier this month indicates that the country produced 81,000 tonnes of cereals in the 2021-2022 cropping season, which while lower than the bumper 110,000 tonne harvest in 2020-2021, was still above the five year average between 2017 and 2021 of 66,000 tonnes.
Cereals include sorghum, maize and millet. The mid-season dry spells and heat were largely to blame for the reduction in the last season, the FAO said.
Meanwhile, by contrast, beef farmers still have no clear picture of when they will be able to resume local slaughter, live exports or supplies to the Botswana Meat Commission (BMC). The industry ground to a halt on August 24 when all cattle movements and slaughter, including at the BMC, were suspended in the wake of the suspected outbreak of Foot and Mouth Disease in the north east.
Agriculture officials yesterday told Mmegi investigations were still ongoing to confirm the outbreak and its extent.
The cash-strapped BMC, which primarily relies on its exports to prop up its revenues and support payments to farmers, was hoping to rebound this year from a downturn in slaughter numbers last year. Just 19,675 cattle were delivered to the BMC last year, resulting in earnings of P109 million, compared to 30,330 cattle in 2020, producing P326 million in earnings.
The lower slaughter numbers last year meant the BMC failed to fully supply its lucrative quota of 1,600 tonnes to Norway, for the first time since 2012, resulting in Namibia beef producers reportedly pouncing on the opportunity.
The suspension of exports means further troubles for farmers who have perennially been complaining about delayed payments from the BMC. The development also means those farmers who had switched to live exports no longer have that option available to them.
Those supplying local butcheries are in the same boat due to the restriction of livestock movements.