Irate farmers tell-off PS

BONIFACE KEAKABETSE
Correspondent | Thursday October 18, 2012 00:00

The farmers faulted the PS over the crisis at the Botswana Meat Commission (BMC) where he is a member of the board. 'Chimbombi lea palelwa; le re humanegisitse kago bolaya BMC,' one of the farmers, Keleitsang Ledimo told the PS at a Kgotla meeting. Other farmers said the entire BMC board must resign for failing the beef industry.

They asserted that the current crisis engulfing the commission proves that the board is inept. Farmers complained about the closures at BMC abattoirs saying these affected their business. One of them, Gilbert Ramokwena complained that cattle prices paid to farmers for selling to the Maun abattoir are too low.

He said farmers cannot recover costs they incurred in raising cattle. Due to the current drought that is already killing cattle in Ngamiland, some farmers will not be able to repay the National Development Bank (NDB) monies they owe under the Foot and Mouth Disease (FMD) fund. The farmers criticised the Department of Veterinary Services (DVS) for failing to control FMD in Botswana. 

Topo Sehanze said after cattle restocking in Ngamiland following the cattle lung disease, farmers have not been able to sell cattle on a continuous basis because of glitches. He said many farmers who are reliant on cattle have become poor. The farmers wanted the government to explain why FMD is rampant in areas which are far away from buffaloes.

They said it is surprising that no cases of FMD have been reported in areas like Shorobe which have high concentration of buffaloes. The current FMD strain in Ngamiland, which has been active since 2007, is believed to come from buffaloes.

When briefing the meeting, Chimbombi said the Maun BMC abattoir will soon resume slaughtering cattle. This comes in the wake of meat shortages in the village due to the lack of capacity at the recently opened private Ngamiland abattoir.

The Ngamiland abattoir is reeling under controversy for its hygiene standards following damning accusations by butchery owners. Chimbombi said the Maun abattoir which is not adequately utilised was brought on board to complement the Ngamiland abattoir and improve beef supply in the village. He said under the arrangement, farmers can either sell their cattle to BMC which will in turn sell to the butcheries or just pay for the slaughtering services and make their own selling arrangements. The abattoir will charge P320 slaughter fee exclusive of Value Added Tax (VAT) he said.

The chairman of the Hainaveld farmers association wondered why the BMC is now killing for the butcheries. He said this may mean the beef production sector in the district has gone down. He said the way forward is a permanent solution to FMD so that farmers can sell to outside markets.