This comes after last month’s revelation by government that it has not yet done a study to determine the degree to which the imposition of restriction on importation of vegetables has to date influenced the country’s balances of trade. Earlier this year, it was reported that authorities at the Ministry of Agriculture were having a difficult time accepting the statistics about the progress farmers had made since the ban. Agriculture policymakers, farmers and other stakeholders were said to be scrambling to get accurate figures on how the horticulture has been performing. The vegetable ban came into effect on January 1, 2022 and targeted 16 vegetables such as onion, butternut, tomato, watermelon, carrot, potato, cabbage and ginger. The ban was intended to support local farmers, increase national food security by encouraging local vegetable production and improve horticulture competitiveness.
The ban was also meant to alleviate climate change effects, develop the agriculture value chain and foster citizen empowerment. Responding to a question in Parliament this week, the Minister of Trade and Industry Mmusi Kgafela said the importation of fruits and vegetables between the years 2020, 2021, and 2022 shows at least a 50% decline in the value of imported fruits and vegetables. He added that in this regard, the import ban has contributed in reducing imports and has also stimulated local production. “This was further facilitated by the government initiative of providing an Impact Accelerator Facility to the tune of P70 million, which allowed for a 50% grant and 50% own contribution to farmers. To this end, 461 farmers have benefited from the initiative across the country,” he said. Kgafela also disclosed that on the other hand, for the years 2020, 2021 and 2022, exports increased by 28.95% compared to the last year before the restriction came into effect. “The imposition of the restriction on importation of fruits and vegetables clearly has had an impact on the structure of our imports. Before the ban, food, beverages and tobacco made up 36.1% of total imports in December 2020, according to Statistics Botswana. However, in December 2022 food, beverages and tobacco only contributed 12.8% to total imports.
