Horticulture far from filling national demand :: Mmegi Online

Horticultural produce in Botswana only meets approximately 40% of the national demand, creating a 60% supply deficit as a result, BusinessWeek has established. The supply gap and sluggish growth of the sector is attributed to the shortness of the growing season and erratic weather conditions in Botswana, which have been aggravated by the rising climate change in the country and the region.

Speaking during the unveiling of a smart tomato farm called Tsoo 13 at Mookane, Local Enterprise Authority (LEA) CEO, Racious Moatshe said the organisation is pushing to unlock the full commercial potential of agriculture’s expansive value chains both upstream and downstream in order to position SMMEs to successfully venture into these areas. He said in the tomato production sector, market studies estimate the demand for tomatoes at 12,000 tonnes per month in Botswana.

“Local production ranges from 60 to 100 tons per hectare depending on the variety and related production conditions,” he said.

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