The Agri-Business Sector in Botswana 2024

Challenges

Botswana is prone to cyclical droughts. Crop production is mostly rain-fed, which leaves crops susceptible to extreme weather conditions. Farmers (especially communal farmers) face high transport costs due to poor road connectivity. High incidence of livestock theft. Inferior tilling technologies. Lack of professional technical skills Lack of quality control in the horticulture sector results in poor quality of produce delivered. Low access to water resources. Low crop production volumes and efficiency. Most agricultural land is underutilised. Post-harvest storage facilities are inadequate. Prevalent occurrences of pests and diseases. Relatively poor soil quality. The cost of agricultural inputs has been steadily rising over the years.

Introduction

Botswana’s agriculture sector includes commercial, communal and traditional production of crops and livestock, and is dominated by traditional farming. Livestock production accounts for 80% of agriculture income and crops 20%. The major crops farmed are sorghum, maize, and millet. Horticulture production has increased due to an import ban on vegetables. Agriculture’s contribution to GDP remained static at 1.6% in 2023. Botswana’s climate is arid to semi-arid with erratic rainfall leading to droughts that affect agriculture production. Access to water resources and irrigation infrastructure is limited. The government’s financial support programmes seek to make the agriculture sector more productive, sustainable, and technology-driven, improve income for the rural population, and achieve food security.

Opportunities

Investments in apps and software. Beef production and cattle breeding. Building and renting or leasing out storage and handling facilities close to slaughterhouses. Export opportunities especially to sub-Saharan Africa. Grain production. Medium and large horticulture production. Packaging and labelling. Processing of pet food, and meat and vegetable canning. Setting up value addition processing of livestock hides and skins. Supply and erection of irrigation infrastructure. Supply of farm mechanisation. Supply of production inputs, chemical and medicines. Technology applications such as drones for surveying, security and livestock control remain untapped.

Outlook

Botswana aims to increase agriculture production through measures taken for plant crop health and protection, soil conservation and technologies and modern farming methods. Private sector production, processing, marketing, and distribution activities are expected to develop. Domestic demand for fruit and vegetables is high, and is forecast to continue to increase. Local production of vegetables has increased since the ban on imports of vegetables. The government is providing various assistance programmes for the development of the horticulture sector. Reduced maize and sorghum harvests in 2024 will increase imports of these products. Droughts, limited access to water, and high prices of feeds, fertilisers, pesticides, chemicals, and medicines could pose a threat to the development and growth of the agriculture sector.

Report Coverage

This report on the agribusiness sector in Botswana includes information on crop and livestock production, horticulture and food processing. It looks at the sector’s economic contribution and size, crop yields and exports. The report includes information on the effect of the ban of fruit and vegetable imports to protect and develop the local industry, key investment sectors and cooperation with other countries. There is also information on notable players, government support and influencing factors. The report includes profiles of 14 companies such as state-owned Botswana Meat Commission, and farming and processing companies such as Senn Foods, Selebi Phikwe, Bolux and Brookside Farm.

Trends

Continuous government financial support programmes. Government desire to have private sector development of agriculture value chains. Improved vegetable production due to an import ban on certain vegetables. Increased use of new technologies although still not widely used. Increasing export beef revenues. Increasing exports of live cattle. Reduction of import bill on vegetables.