… Acting Minister of Agriculture, Edwin Dikoloti, addressing Kgotla residents last week, said proceeding with the launch under current conditions would expose the country to significant trade risks.“Opening an export-led and export-ready abattoir while the disease is active in cont …
Botswana is currently battling a serious outbreak of Foot and Mouth Disease (FMD) that has spread across several parts of the country, placing pressure on the economy and livelihoods, says the Acting Minister of Lands and Agriculture, Dr Edwin Dikoloti. …
… Speaking on Thursday during the Foot and Mouth Pitso, Acting Minister of Lands and Agriculture, Dr Edwin Dikoloti revealed that the Botswana Meat Commission (BMC) is now holding beef stock valued at no less than P202 million, which can no longer be exported to premium internation …
… are demanding urgent clarification from the Minister of Lands and Agriculture over a decision to vaccinate livestock in an area with no detected Foot and Mouth Disease outbreak SESUPO RANTSIMAKO Zone 3C farmers have called on the Minister of Lands and Agriculture, Edwin Dikoloti …
The Botswana government is preparing a multi-million pula investment to revive the ostrich industry, seeking to tap growing global demand for ostrich products and reduce dependence on diamonds. The Minister of Lands and Agriculture said government has identified export opportunities but will first focus on rebuilding domestic production to ensure consistent supply to overseas markets.
The Botswana government is preparing a multi-million pula investment to revive the ostrich industry, seeking to tap growing global demand for ostrich products and reduce dependence on diamonds. The Minister of Lands and Agriculture said government has identified export opportunities but will first focus on rebuilding domestic production to ensure consistent supply to overseas markets.
Ross Breeders company in Artesia will export 90,000 hatchery eggs to Mozambique every week, marking the start of a sustainable export programme aimed at positioning Botswana as a premier poultry hub. The project has generated 370 direct jobs, according to the Minister of Lands and Agriculture.
President Advocate Duma Boko visited the Dibete Ostrich Multiplication Unit, a state-owned breeding facility established in 2006 near Gaborone, signalling a government push to revive Botswana's commercial ostrich sector as an alternative economic driver amid volatile diamond markets. The sector, which produces high-value feathers, lean meat and premium leather, has been constrained by the absence of a reliable local feed value chain.
The Ministry of Lands and Agriculture, in partnership with the FAO, held a consultative workshop to validate and strengthen a draft Agriculture Financing Strategy aimed at unlocking investment at scale, attracting private capital, and strengthening agricultural value chains as Botswana seeks to accelerate agricultural transformation and reduce food import reliance.
Botswana's agriculture minister says the country must reassess its financing approach after years of substantial public investment have not consistently delivered expected production, productivity and profitability gains. The FMD outbreak has prompted a defining moment to evaluate whether agriculture financing has achieved necessary transformational outcomes, despite government support through subsidies, grants, infrastructure programmes and other interventions.
Botswana's Ministry of Lands and Agriculture has launched the National Fodder Strategy, developed with the UN's Food and Agriculture Organisation, to reduce dependence on imported animal feed and lower the dairy import bill while promoting local production of climate-resilient fodder crops like lablab and lucerne.
Kgosi Malope II has named a new regiment Maisantwa III among the Bangwaketse, with initiates receiving education on life skills, gender-based violence, substance abuse, and agricultural concerns. The ceremony also included an appeal for the newly inducted regiment to volunteer in constructing a 37-kilometre fence in an FMD containment zone.
Dr Edwin Dikoloti, MP for Good Hope-Mmathethe, has been appointed Minister of Lands and Agriculture. Motsamai Motsamai, MP for Charleshill, has been transferred from the Ministry of Water and Human Settlement to serve as assistant minister at the Ministry of Lands and Agriculture, effective immediately.
A Botswana minister said stronger regional cooperation is needed to combat an escalating Foot and Mouth Disease outbreak in Southern Africa that has disrupted livestock trade and threatened livelihoods, highlighting the failure of isolated national responses to the transboundary disease.
Acting Minister of Lands and Agriculture Dr Edwin Dikoloti expressed concern that Zone 6B South's Foot and Mouth Disease vaccination coverage rate of 83 per cent was the lowest among all zones, with Zone 6B North at 95 per cent and Zone 3C at 100 per cent. He emphasized that vaccination was crucial to fighting FMD and urged farmers to adhere to veterinary control measures as Botswana faces simultaneous outbreaks across multiple zones for the first time.
The Tsabong Abattoir, scheduled to open in May, has been postponed as veterinary authorities contain foot-and-mouth disease spread. The Acting Minister of Agriculture said opening during active containment would expose the country to trade risks and potential international blacklisting.
Botswana is battling a serious Foot and Mouth Disease outbreak that has spread across several parts of the country, impacting beef exports and causing loss of access to the European Union market under the SADC–EU partnership agreement. The Acting Minister of Lands and Agriculture says many households depend on cattle for income and food, and government is now working with private sector and faith-based organisations to develop a recovery plan.
A foot-and-mouth disease outbreak detected last month has disrupted Botswana's access to quota-free and duty-free EU markets under the EU-SADC Economic Partnership Agreement. The Botswana Meat Commission is holding beef stock valued at no less than P202 million that can no longer be exported to premium international markets, and the country faces production losses and increased disease control costs; government has established a National FMD Command Centre to coordinate response efforts.
Zone 3C farmers are calling on the Minister of Lands and Agriculture to clarify the rationale for vaccinating livestock in an area with no detected Foot and Mouth Disease outbreak.
President Advocate Duma Boko has departed for France to attend the One Health Summit on April 7, which brings together global leaders to discuss human, animal, plant, and ecosystem health, focusing on zoonotic diseases, antimicrobial resistance, sustainable food systems, and pollution exposure. He will hold bilateral talks with President Emmanuel Macron and engage on trade and investment opportunities, then travel to Spain on April 9 for economic diplomacy discussions and talks with Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez Perez-Castejon.