Also known as: MOLA
Government ministry studying land board restructuring and agricultural development, leading response to foot-and-mouth disease crisis affecting livestock trade.
Verbatim sentences from the source article.
Daily News Botswana
… He did this together with the late Mr Pius Mookodi, who was once Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Lands and Agriculture. …
Basimanyana Masire passes onWeekend Post
… The Ministry of Lands and Agriculture is understood to be studying the restructuring, yet the contours of the plan remain stubbornly opaque. …
Gov’t weighs scrapping Land Boards for a Central CommissionDaily News Botswana
… She highlighted that Botswana and Zambia had over the years enjoyed cordial relations, adding that the two countries had undertaken benchmarking visits and collaborated with the Ministry of Lands and Agriculture, particularly on developing phytosanitary standards. …
Vale addition key to agricultural growthBotswana Sunday Standard
… The Ministry of Lands and Agriculture said in August that outbreaks in Zones 3C and 6B had been successfully suppressed and closed with the World Organisation for Animal Health (WOAH), although prevention measures remained in force in Zones 11 and 13. …
FMD Lockdown: BCP Demands Opening of ‘Clean’ Cattle AreasDaily News Botswana
… Members of the community raised concerns that the Ministry of Lands and Agriculture had not conducted a proper induction to educate residents about the containment zone, its purpose, and the importance of keeping cattle within its boundaries. …
Culling remains last resort in FMD controlWeekend Post
… A Ministry of Lands and Agriculture briefing later conceded the point with unusual candor: an animal-health emergency, it acknowledged, can metastasize into a trade crisis, an economic crisis, and a livelihoods crisis in short order. …
From the Kalahari to Kinshasa: Botswana’s beef industry confronts its moment of reckoningBotswana Sunday Standard
… The census, conducted by Statistics Botswana in collaboration with the Ministry of Lands and Agriculture, shows that Botswana had 1,638,543 cattle in 2025, down from 1,744,166 recorded in 2015. …
Cattle herd shrinks as livestock deaths surgeDaily News Botswana
… Presenting the preliminary findings on Wednesday, from the 2025 Agricultural Census, conducted collaboratively by Statistics Botswana and the Ministry of Lands and Agriculture between March and December 2025, Statistician General, Dr Khaufelo Lekobane, said the census established …
Smallstock surge offset cattle declineDaily News Botswana
… Speaking in an interview, Ministry of Lands and Agriculture FMD coordinator, Dr Odireleng Tholowane said the primary objective of the current response plan was to prevent the disease from spreading into neighbouring disease-free regions. …
Kgatleng targets 55 000 cattle in mass vaccinationMmegi
… The initiative is expected to enhance the sharing of agricultural information among member states, improve early warning systems and support coordinated responses to food security challenges.Convened by the Ministry of Lands and Agriculture (MoLA) in partnership with the Food and …
Botswana moves to strengthen agricultural data integrationBasimanyana Masire, younger brother of former President Sir Ketumile Quett Joni Masire and a dedicated cattle farmer, passed away on 12 October 2026 after a prolonged illness. He was a founding member of the Southern District Beef Farmers Association and operated a ranch near Jwaneng.
14 October 2026 · Daily News Botswana →
Basimanyana Masire, younger brother of former President Sir Ketumile Quett Joni Masire and a dedicated cattle farmer, passed away on 12 October 2026 after a prolonged illness. He was a founding member of the Southern District Beef Farmers Association and operated a ranch near Jwaneng.
14 October 2026 · Daily News Botswana →
The UDC government is weighing a proposal to dissolve Botswana's existing land boards and consolidate their authority into a single, centralised Land Commission. The timing coincides with the expiration of land board members' three-year terms, and the Ministry of Lands and Agriculture is studying the restructuring, though details remain unclear.
9 October 2026 · Weekend Post →
Zambia's High Commissioner to Botswana called for African countries to develop comprehensive trade agreements, leverage comparative advantages, and add value to agricultural commodities to boost regional agricultural production and trade.
8 October 2026 · Daily News Botswana →
The Botswana Congress Party's Shadow Minister of Lands and Agriculture says government surveillance data shows disease-free zones remain under blanket movement restrictions despite no FMD detection, and questions why farmers in these areas cannot resume livestock trade.
5 October 2026 · Botswana Sunday Standard →
The Director of the Department of Veterinary Services stated that cattle culling to manage Foot and Mouth Disease is carried out only after other control measures are exhausted, and urged farmers to adhere strictly to containment protocols. He noted that government alone cannot eradicate FMD without full farmer cooperation, and confirmed there are currently no plans for restocking those affected by culling.
15 September 2026 · Daily News Botswana →
The European Union shut Botswana's last authorized fresh-beef export zones on 21 April 2026 following foot-and-mouth disease outbreaks, forcing the state-owned Botswana Meat Commission to seek alternative markets in the Gulf, sub-Saharan Africa, and Asia, including the Democratic Republic of Congo and Angola.
14 September 2026 · Weekend Post →
Botswana's national cattle herd declined to 1,638,543 in 2025 from 1,744,166 in 2015, a 6.1 percent contraction of 105,623 animals, according to the 2025 Agricultural Census by Statistics Botswana. The decline comes as cattle deaths have surged and raises questions about the resilience of the livestock sector.
14 September 2026 · Botswana Sunday Standard →
The 2025 Agricultural Census found that the goat population increased 5.5 per cent and sheep population surged 33.3 per cent over the past decade, while the national cattle population dropped 6.1 per cent. The decline in cattle was driven by a 13.1 per cent plunge in traditional cattle holdings, offset partly by significant expansion in the commercial cattle subsector.
10 September 2026 · Daily News Botswana →
Authorities in Kgatleng East have launched a mass vaccination campaign targeting about 55,000 cattle to contain a Foot-and-Mouth Disease outbreak in the district. Vaccination teams will deploy across the eastern side of the A1 Road, with cattle undergoing three rounds of vaccinations 28 days apart, while movement controls and physical barriers are established to prevent the virus from spreading into disease-free regions.
9 September 2026 · Daily News Botswana →
Botswana is conducting a national workshop to evaluate its agricultural information systems and their readiness to integrate into a wider Southern African Agricultural Information Management System (AIMS), which aims to improve information sharing, early warning systems, and coordinated responses to food security challenges among member states.
3 September 2026 · Mmegi →
Minister of Lands and Agriculture Dr Dikoloti told Parliament that completing a 400km route could unlock international beef markets and reverse economic damage from prolonged livestock restrictions, urging farmers to exercise patience as the government works to end the foot-and-mouth disease crisis.
17 August 2026 · Mmegi →
The Botswana Prison Service recorded an agricultural harvest valued at P2,044,568 during the 2025/2026 cropping season, including 3,000 bags of maize, 368 bags of sorghum, 147 bags of beans, 36,110 kilogrammes of vegetables, 3,542 kilogrammes of citrus fruits, and 20,000 kilogrammes of mixed livestock feed. The Minister of Justice and Correctional Services said the harvest demonstrates how offender rehabilitation contributes to national food production and reduces government expenditure on prisoners' upkeep.
5 August 2026 · Daily News Botswana →
Parliament was informed that Botswana's poultry industry has achieved self-sufficiency in chicken meat and eggs and is preparing to enter export markets, with the industry's value expected to grow from P3.5 billion to P10 billion by 2030.
29 July 2026 · Daily News Botswana →
Kgang Kgang, suspended chairperson of the Kweneng Land Board for more than a year, has announced his intention to apply for renewal of his term when his contract expires. Corruption charges against him were withdrawn by the courts due to insufficient evidence, but his suspension remains in place without a formal disciplinary hearing, and he says the Ministry of Lands and Agriculture has not responded to his letters seeking clarity on his case.
7 July 2026 · Weekend Post →
Rats are not classified as wildlife under Botswana's Compensation Act and do not qualify for government payouts, according to the Senior Wildlife Warden. Rats fall under agriculture jurisdiction, and the Wildlife and National Parks Department lacks data to present to government to prove large-scale crop destruction by rodents.
6 July 2026 · Daily News Botswana →
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.
30 June 2026 · Mmegi →
Kgang Kgang, suspended chair of the Kweneng Land Board for over a year on corruption allegations that were later withdrawn due to insufficient evidence, says he plans to apply for renewal of his term when his contract expires. He has complained of receiving no response from the Ministry of Lands and Agriculture to his letters seeking clarity on his suspension and the status of a disciplinary hearing.
29 June 2026 · Weekend Post →
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.
29 June 2026 · Daily News Botswana →
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.
23 June 2026 · Mmegi →
Botswana's Ministry of Local Government and Traditional Affairs has deployed 1,050 Ikageng Workers to support foot-and-mouth disease (FMD) control activities across villages in Ramotswa, Good Hope, and Tsabong districts. The workers will assist in establishing a containment zone to isolate affected areas and protect the country's livestock industry and international trade status.
17 June 2026 · Daily News Botswana →
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.
4 June 2026 · Daily News Botswana →
Botswana's livestock sector faces renewed pressure after suspected Foot and Mouth Disease cases were identified at Steelbase Farm and Mpusang Farm in the Banyana farming area, threatening to prolong movement restrictions and increase financial strain on cattle farmers.
25 May 2026 · Botswana Sunday Standard →
Pandamatenga farmers have committed 38,908 hectares to crops this season despite severe flooding that brought operations to a standstill in January and February. Though the hectorage has decreased from last season's 41,000 hectares, the region's farmers have replanted flood-damaged areas and shifted toward sunflower, maize, and barley production to avoid market saturation and meet international demand.
11 May 2026 · Daily News Botswana →
An FMD outbreak in Zone 11 has triggered livestock movement restrictions and export suspensions, disrupting cash flows for farmers and agribusinesses who depend on seasonal cattle sales to service bank loans. The disruption is increasing loan restructuring requests, arrears, and non-performing loans, particularly in agricultural portfolios, while reduced transaction volumes in rural communities slow economic activity.
5 May 2026 · Weekend Post →
The European Union has suspended beef imports from Botswana's larger foot and mouth disease (FMD) free zones following an FMD outbreak in Zone 11. The World Organisation for Animal Health also suspended the FMD free status of the affected zone, and disease surveillance has detected FMD in three additional crushes, prompting movement bans and vaccination efforts.
20 April 2026 · Daily News Botswana →