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Gov’t shifts from subsidies to commercial farming

Friday, July 24, 2026 | 30 Views |

Ramping up: Government wants to move its support towards commercialising local agriculture
PIC: PHATSIMO KAPENG

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Botswana is embarking on a major overhaul of its agricultural sector, abandoning decades of subsidy-led interventions in favour of a commercial, market-driven farming model aimed at improving productivity, the Minister of Lands and Agriculture, Edwin Dikoloti, has said.

The shift is also aimed at boosting technology adoption and increasing agriculture's contribution to the economy.

The move comes after government acknowledged that its long-standing public sector-dominated agricultural extension system, built around heavily subsidised programmes such as SLOCA, LIMID, LIMID II, ISPAAD, Special ISPAAD, Temo Letlotlo, and Thuo Letlotlo, has failed to deliver the desired outcomes.

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Gov’t shifts from subsidies to commercial farming

Botswana is embarking on a major overhaul of its agricultural sector, abandoning decades of subsidy-led interventions in favour of a commercial, market-driven farming model aimed at improving productivity, the Minister of Lands and Agriculture, Edwin Dikoloti, has said.