I should be resting by now, but I noticed that the vegetable issues continue in Botswana. So, here I am, blogging again!
The farmers in Botswana are meeting with the country’s Minister of Agriculture regarding easing the ban on vegetable imports from South Africa. I hope the discussions will focus more on how Botswana could improve its domestic production by leveraging technologies from South Africa. We need regional collaboration more. The restrictive trade policies are not in the spirit of SACU and regional agricultural growth.
There are already some cases of effective collaboration in which various countries in the region benefit from South Africa’s agricultural technologies. A case in point is the citrus industry, where research is primarily done in South Africa and shared with the Citrus Growers Association of Southern Africa members. Similarly, South Africa imports some vaccines from Botswana for the livestock industry. We could build on such collaboration and avoid using trade policy within a Southern African Customs Union – a free trade area.
The government’s easing restrictions on South Africa’s vegetable imports will benefit households struggling with higher prices and limited supplies. There is no neglect of local farmers, whose frustrations I understand. We must work on regional collaboration and coordination of agriculture and trade policy.
I have written on this issue recently; you can read the note by clicking here.
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