(3 Minutes Read)
The industry’s undue dependency on imported raw materials essential for poultry feed, such as maize, soya, and sunflower, is a challenge. This reliance has raised production costs and made the sector vulnerable to international market fluctuations.
Despite being a key driver of food security, Botswana’s poultry sector remains heavily reliant on imports. The country produces 240 million eggs and over 52 million kilograms of poultry meat annually.
The local poultry industry consists of breeding, hatcheries, feed production, and both meat and egg production. Large-scale businesses are owned by citizens, except for a few joint ventures involving foreign investors.
Speaking at the first-ever Irvine’s Poultry Expo recently, Assistant Minister of Communications and Innovation, Shawn Nthaile, admitted there was still plenty of room for improvement. The industry’s undue dependency on imported raw materials essential for poultry feed, such as maize, soya, and sunflower, is a challenge. This reliance has raised production costs and made the sector vulnerable to international market fluctuations.
Poultry plays an important role in the agricultural sector, contributing an estimated P3 million to the country’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP) and directly employing over 25,000 individuals. Delving deeper into the numbers, Nthaile revealed Botswana’s broiler hatcheries currently have an annual capacity of around 41 million 1-day-old chicks.
Read Also:
https://trendsnafrica.com/botswana-to-improve-economic-ties-with-eu/
Layer hatcheries possess a capacity of 1 million day-old chicks, producing around 850,000 points of lay eggs, which yield nearly 20 million dozen eggs annually. Further, chicken feed producers generate 260,000 tonnes annually, meeting the demand of the sector.
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