Veggie import ban reaches moment of truth

Wednesday, February 15, 2023 | 2720 Views |

Route to market: Many farmers opt to sell their horticulture straight to the streets, as retailers impose prices and difficult conditions

Pressure from South African farmers as well as conditions set by the Southern African Customs Union and the World Trade Organisation suggest the horticultural import ban will likely end next January as scheduled. The impact of the two-year intervention is however still unclear, reports Staff Writer, MBONGENI MGUNI

Authorities at the Ministry of Agriculture are having a difficult time accepting the statistics they are seeing about the progress farmers have made since the ban on certain vegetables began last January.

According to the figures, the total number of horticultural farmers in the country have increased by 300 to 1,600 since the ban took effect in January 2022, while production has increased by 11,000 tonnes.

Already have an active account? Log in here.

Or Sign up and get unlimited access to premium articles.

GIPS graduates challenged to embrace TVET qualifications

Kabelo Boranabi | 1d ago

Stage set for cricket National League final

Calistus Kolantsho | 1d ago

Dan Tshanda roars in death through tribute

Boitumelo Khutsafalo | 2d ago

Disco: A genre reclaiming throne on local music scene

Boitumelo Khutsafalo | 2d ago

Ash Static’s trap blueprint: Quiet offstage, loud on the beat

Johannes Kambai | 2d ago

Galaxy find GU’s kryptonite in six-year football war

Kabelo Boranabi | 2d ago

Benchwarmers carry the Olympic dream

Kabelo Boranabi | 2d ago

Badminton PRO kicked out

Calistus Kolantsho | 2d ago

The State apparatus must be sanitised

When the State cannot rely on its own machinery to pursue suspected wrongdoing, repairing that machinery must become a national priority.The establishment of a Special Investigations and Asset Recovery Task Force may help government respond to the immediate challenge. However, Botswana cannot afford to leave the Directorate on Corruption and Economic Crime (DCEC) and the Directorate of Public Prosecutions (DPP) struggling whilst building...

The Monitor Editor | 10 November 2026

About us

Mmegi is the leading independent source of breaking news, latest news, current
affairs, Politics, Business, Sport, debates, analysis, and entertainment news in Botswana.