Beef Cattle Farming Industry Overview

The economy of Botswana has historically been agriculturally driven until 1967 when diamonds were first discovered. Agriculture remains the critical source of livelihood for most Batswana with a majority of Batswana living in rural areas dependent on subsistence crop and livestock farming. The industry plays a critical role in the socio-cultural and economic lives of Batswana and has contributed immensely towards the country’s economic diversification drive through the creation of employment and wealth.

The Government has, as a result, put a lot of effort into creating an enabling environment through sound macro-economic policies and an increased budgetary provision for the sector. Government intervention has included creation of sector capacity through skills development, access to capital, low tax rates and exchange control liberalization. Disease control is stringent, and the country’s Vaccine Institute is a regional leader in vaccine production and supply. Government, through the National Development Plan 10 (NDP 10) which covers the period April 2009 to March 2016, underpins the importance of boosting agricultural yields and productivity in order to expand incomes and create sustainable jobs.

In 2003/04, agriculture contributed 2.3 % of Gross Domestic Product (GDP), out of which about 70% - 80% is attributed to cattle production. Cattle production remains the mainstay for Botswana’s rural economy as a source of income, employment and investment opportunities. The cattle farming industry also has strong linkages with the rest of the economy as a supplier of inputs for meat processing, leather products and other industries in the beef supply chain which play a vital role in the rejuvenation of rural economies.  

While the country’s cattle population has fluctuated between 2.5 and 3 million, the Department of Veterinary Service Report (2008), indicates that there are 2.5 million cattle in Botswana. These are kept under two production systems, being the Traditional/Communal and the Commercial systems.

The traditional/communal system is characterized by cattle posts where cattle are grazed on communal unenclosed, tribally administered land with no individual security of land tenure and a traditional right to grazing of unlimited cattle numbers. No selection is done in traditional/communal areas resulting in random breeding which is not desired by farmers.

On the other hand, the commercial freehold farming system is characterized by fenced ranches. Currently, the traditional/communal system accounts for approximately 80% of the national cattle population, while the commercial system accounts for 20%.

However while the livestock sub-sector is the most important agricultural enterprise in Botswana, the performance of the beef industry is not satisfactory due to overgrazing, overstocking, low off take rates, Cold Dress Mass (CDM) and calving percentages. Part of the problem is attributed to communal grazing systems that constrain farmers from undertaking livestock improvement activities, such as controlled breeding and supplementary feeding.

These constraints manifest themselves in low agricultural productivity which meets only a small portion of the country’s food needs and contributes just 2.8% to GDP, primarily through beef exports. The Botswana Meat Commission (BMC) is the official exporter of Botswana beef and the main market for the country’s beef has been the lucrative European Union, (EU) with China fast emerging as an additional viable market.

To address these constraints government has developed new strategies to commercialize the beef industry through weaner production and stud breeding. The Ministry of Agriculture plans to increase the national cattle herd from 2.5 million to 3.5 million and offtake rates from 8% to 20% to ensure that the sub-sector remains the social and cultural touchstone. This can only be achieved through supportive policy environment, provision of appropriate technologies and extension messages and a robust private sector participation in the beef cattle farming value chain.