Underutilised Francistown abattoir bleeds losses

“Data from Statistics Botswana show that the region had 223,701 cattle from a total of 2.08 million cattle in the country of which only about 14,500 (6.5 percent) was sold to the BMC Francistown abattoir in 2013,” said Tombale.

Further, he said data from Statistics Botswana shows that cattle population in the whole country has reduced by 7.1 percent due to a national decline in birth rate at 50.6%, an increase of mortality rate to 12.6% and recurrence of Foot and Mouth (FMD) and other ailments.