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SYNOPSIS OF BOTSWANA DAIRY SECTOR

Presented by

Emmanuel James

Senior Consultant, Dairy Consult (Pty) Ltd

Emmanuel@Jamesbw.xyz

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OVERVIEW OF DAIRY SECTOR

  • The local dairy sector is currently underperforming:
  • The dairy herd has declined in the past 9 years from 4755 in 2017 to 4026 in 2024.
  • The number of milking cows has also reduced from 1601to 1265 in the same period under consideration.
  • Only 2 commercial farmers
  • The country’s demand for fresh milk stands at about 70 million litres, considering the current population that stands at 2.359million people

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  • Volume of locally produced fresh milk in 2024 was 8 254 126 litres against imported fresh or pasteurised milk volume of 51 559 679 litres
  • Local production stands at 12% of national demand and imports at 74%.
  • To meet Expected National Demand (END) for fresh milk, there is a gap of 14% and there is a additional gap of 74% for import substitution
  • Only 2 commercial farms in the country: Sunny Side Dairy (Otse) and Milk Valley (Lobatse)both situated in South East District
  • 4 Milk Processors: Clover Botswana, Foods Botswana, Lactalis and Sally Dairies ( all based in Gaborone)

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INPUT SUPPLY

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SIMPLIFIED DAIRY VALUE CHAIN

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Opportunities

    • Breeding of Quality Dairy animals
    • Fodder Production
    • Feed supplies
    • Support Services (Technical support and veterinary services)
    • Processing, Packaging and distribution
    • Logistics (Milk and Feeds)
    • Training Programmes designed for the dairy industry

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Challenges

    • Outbreak of FMD
    • Cost of fodder
    • Climatic Conditions
    • Inadequate finance
    • Inadequate Extension Services
    • Poor Farmer Commitment
    • Lack of a formidable Farmers Organisation

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