Choppies commits to supporting local farmers

Ramachandran PIC: KENNEDY RAMOKONE
Ramachandran PIC: KENNEDY RAMOKONE

Choppies, the Botswana Stock Exchange-listed home-grown retailer, says it support local production as evidenced by the millions of pula it continues to pour into procuring from Batswana businesses who supply their stores across the country with produce. In an interview, Choppies CEO, Ramachandran Ottapathu said they work with suppliers from an array of businesses including farmers.

The mass grocery retailer is currently working closely with 1,800 local farmers who are actively supplying them with produce and have an additional 200 seasonal ones.

“We have active farmers who supply us with quality produce; the active ones normally supply us every two weeks,” he told BusinessMonitor. “We encourage local production and support small scale farmers and businesses whether it is dairy, manufacturing, milling, agriculture or any other sector.” Choppies’ initiative to support farmers, who are finding their feet in farming, comes after government’s bold move to ban the importation of 16 vegetables in January 2022. Since the moratorium on the importation on vegetables such as onion, butternut, tomato, watermelon, carrot, potato, cabbage and ginger, a number of Batswana have gone into farming.

Editor's Comment
Stakeholders must step up veggie supply

The Ministry of Agriculture, local producers, retailers, and industry associations must work together to overcome the obstacles hindering vegetable production and distribution.This collaborative approach is essential to improve the availability, quality, and affordability of vegetables in the market.Firstly, the Ministry of Agriculture should provide support and guidance to local farmers to enhance their productivity and efficiency. This could...

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