Lobatse — Government intends to use services provided by the Ramatlabama Artificial Insemination Training Centre to develop value chains in the cattle production sector and place Botswana meat atop the global market.
President Dr Mokgweetsi Masisi said this after touring the centre prior to a special cabinet meeting held at the facility yesterday.
The centre, he said, offered services on semen production, harvesting of eggs from heifers, embryo production, straw production and artificial insemination, among other services.
The President said if fully utilised, those services could enable the country to tap on value chains in the cattle production sector as well as increase jobs and revenue for the country.
"If you look at the fourth priority in the Reset Agenda on the value chain (development), you will realise that there are many value chain opportunities in this area such as semen production, harvesting of eggs from heifers to develop embryos, production of straw, artificial insemination and others," added Dr Masisi. He said government also desired to use the centre to develop high quality genetics and export.
He added that government wanted Botswana to have the best beef, best genetics, best construct of embryo and best human skills.
President Masisi expressed delight that there had been an increase in enrollment of people for training in artificial insemination and livestock management at the centre.
"The demand is massive nationally, multi-layered and multi-disciplinary," he said.
He further expressed happiness that quality bulls imported earlier this year from the United States had adapted well at the centre.
"We have been informed that everything is going well. The bulls are all doing well apart from the one which died from heart water disease," President Masisi said.
He explained that cabinet had decided to hold its meeting at the facility in order to show support and be informed of how the facility operated.
He also said he decided to instruct cabinet ministers, their assistants and permanent secretaries to purchase semen produced from the centre as a show of support to the government initiative to improve quality of cattle produced.
The Ministry of Agriculture's deputy permanent secretary, Dr Boitumelo Mogome-Maseko, explained that the Ramatlabama Artificial Insemination Training Centre was opened in 1952 as a national diagnostic laboratory and training centre for veterinary stock inspectors.
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She said the facility imported the first batch of cattle from Texas in 1964. The place, according to Dr Mogome-Maseko became a semen distribution centre in 1966. She added that the facility also trained range managers and in 2004, introduced other livestock production courses.
"Semen production, processing and sales have been going on in this place for those many years. As part of the Reset Agenda, government made a decision to reinvest in reproductive technologies. The first technology in reproduction is the bull, hence importing them and heifers from Texas in May this year," Dr Mogome-Maseko said.
She said government was in the process of making the facility a centre of excellence starting with renovation of the facility and its laboratories.
And, Dr Mogome-Maseko said they would also automate the semen laboratory for cattle and also introduce embryo transfer technology. Additionally, Dr Mogome-Maseko said they would rebuild the small stock laboratory.
"To make it a centre of excellence, it has to be accredited. We need to improve the processes; we need to deal with the issues of biosecurity. We are also going to upgrade our internal roads," she said.
She said the centre was experiencing overwhelming demand for training and was fully booked up to March next year.
Dr Mogome-Maseko urged more people to make use of the centre's services to improve their livestock management and breed.
BOPA
