"LEA should lobby BOBS to lower costs for adopting standards in order to enable industries within the horticulture value chain to adopt quality standards to enable them to penetrate markets," said Neo Mahube, LEA business opportunity manager. Through collaboration with the Ministry of Agriculture (MoA), producers will be encouraged to move away from being individualistic, she said.
She said LEA will also lobby the Ministry of Minerals, Energy and Water Resources to develop specific water and energy-related programmes geared towards advancing the horticulture sub-sector. Presenting the Horticulture Value Chain Study this week, Mahube noted that local farmers have the potential to meet the demand for processed fruits and vegetables which averages half a billion Pula annually. The study recommends that LEA should facilitate the uptake of opportunities in horticulture through partnerships with relevant stakeholders to achieve surplus production. "Upon attaining fruits and vegetable production surplus, the authority together with stakeholders should develop an export-led horticulture industry that will focus on identifying international niche markets for fruits and vegetables," she said. According to the study, lack of diversity in vegetable production leads to local retailers sourcing from large farmers or externally.
