Agrinews October 2012 - Ministry of Agriculture

Beef Industry vitalArticle: Joseph RamodisaPhotos: Phineas PhineasIt did not come as a surprise thatat this year’s Letsema II, the beefsector was the main issue. Thebeef sector has experienced setbacksdue to Foot and Mouth Disease(FMD) outbreaks and the loss of EUmarket last year, which resulted inthe Botswana Meat Commission’s(BMC) closure. Such situations hit thefarming communities.This has been a challenge forthe cattle industry, which callsf o r c o l l e c t ive c o - o p e r a t i o nbetween stakeholders for effectivemanagement. Letsema II forum wasmeant to achieve that.Minister of Agriculture, MrChristiaan de Graaff appealed tofarmers to work closely with hisministry to ensure the profitability ofthe beef industry and its developmentto international standards.Another key issue is that of loweroff take rate, compared to that ofthe neighboring countries such asNamibia where they have double offtake rate.With a high off take rate, de Graaffsaid alternative market for the beefsector can be found. He noted thatthe local market is too little for thisindustry of about three million cattle.Securing those markets, hesaid, could be possible if all cattleproducers can act in accordance withrecommendation from those markets.To ensure compliance with marketrequirements, the Minister noted thatholdings where cattle are kept undersame management and not allowedto mix with others are in goodcondition as recommended.“All of us must take part for thissystem to be functional,” he said.“We must make sure all cattle inthe green zones are compliant to thisrecommendation.It has been observed by theAgriculture Hub Coordinator, Mr NilFitt that if the off take rate in Botswanahas not increased in the next 20years, all beef will be consumedlocally. However, Fitt is positive thatit is possible to double or triple theoff take.Minister De GraaffFitt also states that processing ofbeef products locally will be moreprofitable rather than selling rawproducts.Many rural communities dependon the beef sector for their household income. Thus this industry issymbolic for the farming community,as a potential unifier and as animportant source of food and henceits protection is eminent.One of the farmers contributing at LetsemaOctober 2012 2