In May, the government spent P25 million in the acquisition of 141 bulls and 21 heifers from Texas but after President Mokgweetsi Masisi’s recent visit to Australia, the government has since opted to purchase 4, 000 straws of semen from Droughtmaster and Wagyu cattle. Instead of buying live cattle like it did with Texas breeds, the government has decided to buy semen which is less costly in terms of transportation. Earlier this year, government disclosed that transporting the 162 high-quality breeding Texas cattle alone gobbled P8.6 million.
Speaking to the media about their latest acquisition, the Minister of Agriculture Fidelis Molao, said they undertook a visit to Australia from August 27 to September 10, 2023 partly as a benchmarking exercise to identify possible areas of collaboration on crops and livestock production, agricultural research and development, and related areas. To get a more accurate picture of how agriculture is done in Australia, Molao revealed that they visited various farms where they purchased straws of semen for resale to the public. Molao indicated that they went to buy semen at Glencoe Farm which specialises in Droughtmaster cattle. “Although this breed is already available in Botswana, it is noteworthy that Australia continues to undertake rigorous genetic selection to improve the breed. The Ministry of Agriculture has purchased 3, 000 straws of the Droughtmaster semen, for resale to the public, which are yet to be delivered,” Molao disclosed.
