BMC and farmers need to collaborate

Editor | Thursday January 27, 2011 00:00

Over the years, the BMC has had a generally acrimonious relationship with farmers who have accused it of offering below par prices for beasts delivered. Farmers and their associations have fought hard for legislative changes enabling them to export both live and processed beef. The farmers decried the BMC's monopoly and its imposition of below market prices.

Even with the BMC's adoption of export parity prices, farmers still claimed that instead of passing on its export successes on producer prices, the BMC was withholding these good fortunes.  The bitter relationship has been evident in the perennial under-utilisation of capacity at the BMC's abattoirs due to low supply by farmers. And in a vicious circle, this under-utilisation has often translated to deficits in the BMC's books, preventing it from improving producer prices.

Last year's slaughter figures indicate that the system works. Farmers and the BMC can enjoy a mutually beneficial relationship. Through its livestock initiatives and the hiking of producer prices in 2008 and 2009, the BMC has moved closer to 100 percent utilisation of its abattoirs. The higher numbers of beasts slaughtered will, in turn, enable the BMC to seal export contracts at premium values, profits from which will be ploughed back to producers.

Higher operational efficiency will also lower costs and increase the prospects of a surplus from which producer prices can be improved. That the BMC's strategy is transforming the beef industry indicates that greater success could be scored for more farmers. BMC statistics of yesteryear indicate that generally the same farmers come forward annually with product, while smaller scale farmers are largely hesitant to participate due to negative cost-benefit analysis.

With better prices, direct purchase of cattle from communities and greater understanding of the beef industry's economics, more value could be unlocked from the estimated three million cattle in Botswana. Small-scale farmers could be enticed into participating in livestock initiatives such as the feedlot scheme where the BMC purchases calves and rears them until slaughtering age. Besides export earnings at national level, an improved working relationship between farmers and the BMC will support and justify government initiatives such as the Young Farmers Fund. This is apart from the thousands of families who stand to benefit from the proceeds of commercial beef farming on a wider scale.

Countries such as South Africa and, at one point, Zimbabwe, have demonstrated that commercial ranching can benefit households, farmers, national employment and the public coffers.

                                                                Today's thought

 People have been known to achieve more as a result of working with others than against them.

                                                               - Dr. Allan Fromme