9 April 2008
editorial
Gaborone — A senior official in the Ministry of Agriculture has reportedly warned of the impending shortage of fresh milk, and presumably other dairy products, in the near future.
The Daily News quotes the head of the dairy section in the ministry, Lebane Nthoyiwa, as calling for government intervention if the impending milk crisis is to be averted.
The crunch is expected to come in the wake of the FIFA World Cup games scheduled for South Africa in 2010. What we know is that the anticipated shortage is not only confined to milk but other basic food commodities and even services. Shortfalls are also expected in the supply of vegetables, fruits and cereals. It is therefore safe to conclude that this is a national food security issue, which needs to be treated as such.
Botswana imports more than 50 percent of its fresh milk needs and more than 95 percent of UHT-processed milk such as Ultramel. As a matter of fact, Botswana imports about 80 percent of her food requirements, primarily from South Africa.
For years, various interest groups and even government officials have warned against over-dependence on imports, even for commodities that could be easily produced locally. The benefits to be accrued from locally produced commodities are immeasurable in that not only are the country's food security requirements met, but can also provide the much-needed employment and save the country foreign exchange. With the current run-away food prices globally, Botswana is in a precarious and perilous situation. The Agriculture Ministry has a dairy unit in place and NAMPAAD to provide technical assistance to dairy farmers. In addition, soft loans can be sourced from citizen empowerment institutions such as CEDA or the National Development Bank (NDB). These are credible efforts.
However, due to the disjointed nature of doing things on the part of the Botswana government, these potentially good programmes have failed to make a difference. There has never been a concerted effort from government to develop locally grown sectors. Government institutions - such as councils, the army, prisons, hospitals and schools - have failed to assist local companies. For instance, instead of these institutions sourcing their fresh milk supply from a CEDA-funded, LEA and NAMPAAD-supported dairy project in, say Bobonong, they would find all sorts of excuses to get their UHT milk in cartons from South Africa.
Unless Batswana in government institutions change their attitude and stop receiving bribes from unpatriotic traders, this country will never break the imports syndrome.
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