Outrage breaks in SA over Botswana veggie restriction
Lewanika Timothy | Monday December 15, 2025 06:01
The commotion brews from what SA farmer associations deem as a reinstatement of the veggie ban without consultation with veggie exporters from other countries.
This week, the Ministry of Lands and Agriculture announced a temporary restriction of 16 vegetable types ranging from tomatoes, onions, green peppers and potatoes. The restriction, which is not like the 2021 ban, is a move to restore the equilibrium of local demand with supply from local farmers.
Pressure began mounting on the government in the past months when commercial farmers at the Tuli block last week said they were bleeding millions as vegetables were rotting due to an oversupply glut in the market, citing government inefficiencies in stakeholder engagement, and a declining local consumption pattern driven by economic challenges, despite acknowledging the importance of government import restrictions
Tuli Block farmers said they were facing heavy financial losses as large volumes of vegetables went unsold, leaving produce to rot in fields and pushing commercial growers into crisis.
The move has, however, ruffled the feathers of commercial farmers across the SA border again. The restriction has been deemed as a hostile re-institution of the 2021 ban by the largest agriculture association in SA, the Agricultural Business Chamber of South Africa (Agbiz).
Agbiz chief economist, Wandile Sihlobo, has penned in several newspaper outlets in SA, citing the restriction as a policy reversal by Botswana President Duma Boko’s administration, which had previously lifted similar bans imposed by the former government as inflationary pressures continued to bite households.
The association has labelled the move as abrupt and in violation of the SACU free trade agreement.
“We continuously see countries restricting imports of agricultural products on short notice, with limited communication to other countries,” Sihlobo said, calling Namibia and Botswana the major culprits. “They blocked South Africa’s vegetable imports in 2021 and at various points in subsequent years.”
“The Southern African Customs Union bloc promotes free trade and economic integration. Nevertheless, the SACU agreement contains a loophole that allows such restrictions.... Of course, this action has had a financial impact on South African farmers, who have for many years produced for the domestic market and the region at large,” Sihlobo said.
He said South Africa’s response will need to be “sensitive but firm”. Sihlobo added that the import bans should not be perpetual, but have time limits once Botswana’s producers have restarted their industries and can compete in open markets with South Africa”
Locally, the Mosisedi commercial farmers association representative, Duncan Ramooki, is, however, of the view that there is no need for government to consult with SA producers or government in relation to issues of local demand and supply, swimming against the views of Agbiz.
“It’s not necessary for the government to have engaged with SA producers and the government. This is not even a ban, it’s a seasonal restriction that is the result of excessive supply from local producers,” he said.
According to Ramooki, the government has a responsibility to balance the demand and supply of local produce and empower local producers without the interference of outside parties.
The government banned a flurry of 16 vegetable types in 2021, and invested billions in local farmers through various programs, drilling boreholes for them and subsidising the purchase of shade nets and tunnels for horticulture production.
After pumping billions government banned the import of vegetables, to support its investment by creating demand for local producers. The ban saw an increase in production, but there were problems with market pricing and the quality of vegetables produced locally.
The Vice President and Minister of Finance, Ndaba Gaolathe, would later dismiss the vegetable ban as a flawed policy with the potential to undermine Botswana’s economic transformation agenda.
Responding to a question in Parliament, Gaolathe stated that there are more progressive ways to empower local farmers and develop the local horticultural sector without resorting to a vegetable ban.
“I put it to you that a vegetable ban is bad economics, very bad economics. Anything that requires tariffs to sustain it, even in the short term, is bad economics. What is happening now is that food and vegetables have become more expensive in Botswana. Low-income groups, people who are already struggling, are spending a larger percentage of their income on food,” Gaolathe said.
Gaolathe acknowledged that local farmers have benefited from the vegetable ban but emphasised that this is not a sustainable way to grow the sector. He suggested that more effective measures could include directly subsidising vegetable farmers by establishing a dedicated fund for them.
“What we need to target is not just funding, but also research and development. We should support these farmers by connecting them with experienced mentors, without imposing these kinds of bans,” he said.