11 Apr 2024

Transformation of the Ramatlabama Artificial Insemination centre to a facility for cattle and small stock reproduction technologies will go a long way in improving the quality and quantity of the national herd.

This was said by Botswana’s ambassador to Kuwait, Mr Augustine Makgonatsotlhe during a tour by heads of missions to appreciate programmes undertaken at the facility on Tuesday.

Mr Makgonatsotlhe said the centre also presented an opportunity for the development of value chains in various streams such as semen, embryo and straw production as well as artificial insemination, in line with the Reset and Reclaim Agenda.

“We applaud government for the requisite investment. This represents an important role in the growth of the agricultural sector,” he said.

Mr Makgonatsotlhe added that they would continue to support the centre and assist in finding partnerships for capacity building and technical upkeep.

For her part, permanent secretary in the Ministry of Agriculture, Ms Nancy Chengeta said government had made a decision to use the agricultural sector to diversify the economy.

“Ramatlabama has therefore been chosen as one of the inflection points to transform the agricultural sector,” Ms Chengeta said.

She informed the envoys that the centre had been the main semen distribution facility since independence. 

She added that since 2004, the centre had been providing training on general agricultural management practices as well as semen tapping and the process of transforming the centre to move beyond its current operations was ongoing.

“In the past, we were keeping a maximum of 30 bulls but now we are targeting to keep a total stock of 200 cattle,” she said.

The centre, she said had been training a maximum of 40 trainees and currently it trained 180 and the intention was to increase the number.

Ms Chengeta further indicated that before September last year, training fee was around P7 000 for 18 days, adding however, the fee had now been reduced to P500, including lodging and meals.

She said funds had been availed to upgrade the laboratory and the state-of-the-art technology had already been procured.

“The equipment would be able to facilitate tapping of semen, process it as well as processing embryos and eventually selling them to farmers,” she said.

She said the aim was to facilitate local farmers and export surplus once the local market had been satisfied. She further said the second laboratory was also being upgraded for processing goats and sheep semen, and the procured equipment could also process cattle semen.

“This is a very sensitive area and not many countries are able to process semen for small stock. But our procured state-of-the-art equipment would enable us to do so,” she added. ends