Poultry meat production in Botswana

John Cassius Moreki

Department of Animal Science and Production, Botswana College of Agriculture,
Private Bag 0027, Gaborone, Botswana
jcmoreki@gmail.com

Abstract

Poultry meat (mainly chicken) production in Botswana has experienced phenomenal growth over time (i.e., 1982 to 2010). This growth is attributable to inter alia government assistance such as Financial Assistance Policy (FAP) and restrictions on imports in accordance with Control of Goods Act. The country’s demand for poultry meat is estimated to be 60 000 tonnes. The growth of the poultry meat industry calls for adoption of high hygiene standards by the processing plants to ensure wholesomeness of the products. However, the growth of the industry has been hampered by frequent disease outbreaks and inadequate extension service. Currently, only 28 poultry abattoirs are licensed with the Department of Veterinary Service and thus receive technical support from government meat inspectors. This implies that the hygiene in the unregistered abattoirs is inadequate indicating that food safety has been neglected for a long time. Opportunities exist in further processing of poultry meat into various products.

Key words: Avian influenza, chicken meat, hygiene, meat quality, Newcastle disease

Introduction

In the mid-1960s, agriculture accounted for 40% of Botswana’s gross domestic product compared to about 1.6% at present. Livestock farming is the principal agricultural sub-sector and an essential component of the rural economy (Anon 2009). Presently, livestock farming accounts for about 80% of the agricultural sector’s gross domestic product (GDP). However, the contribution of livestock to the agricultural sector’s GDP is likely to be over 80% given the level of sophistication of the local poultry industry. Recently, broiler breeding farms have been established and hatcheries expanded. Also, broiler rearing farms are being expanded to accommodate the increased demand for poultry meat.

The local poultry industry may be classified broadly into commercial and traditional sectors. The commercial sector uses exotic high yielding bird strains (high egg production and fast growth rates), whereas unimproved low producing indigenous breeds predominate in the traditional sector. The commercial sector can be further categorized into small-scale (up to 20 000 birds), medium-scale (20 001 to 50 000 birds) and large-scale (>50 000 birds). Botswana is nearly self-sufficient in chicken meat and table eggs. However, further processed chicken meat (FPC), turkey, duck, quail, guinea fowl and pheasants which are not produced in sufficient amounts in the country are imported from neighbouring countries, notably the Republic of South Africa.

Botswana uses the licensing and restrictions on the imports of some agricultural products including beef, fish produce, milk, eggs, chicken and some horticultural products. The objective of these restrictions is to protect domestic suppliers from competition (Botswana Institute of Development Policy Analysis 2006). These restrictions have contributed enormously to the growth of the local poultry industry. In Botswana, poultry meat like other meats is processed in accordance with Livestock Meat Industries Act of 2007 which was enacted to ensure that meat is processed under hygienic conditions.

The national poultry meat demand for Botswana is estimated to be 60 000 tonnes per year. Poultry meat is produced by small-scale, medium scale and large-scale farmers. As a result, product quality is variable due to differences in hygiene standards adopted in the poultry abattoirs. According to Groom (1990), some factors that affect meat quality include temperature, ventilation rate and nutrition. Presently, the Department of Veterinary Services has licensed 28 poultry abattoirs and these receive technical support from government meat inspectors. This paper discusses the performance of the poultry meat industry from 2004 to 2009. Some opportunities and challenges in the poultry meat industry are also discussed.

Chicken meat production and marketing

Chicken meat production from 2004 to 2009 is illustrated in Figure 1. Generally, chicken meat increased over time. In 2005 and 2009, chicken meat declined by 37.7% and 11.3%, respectively. The sharp decline in chicken meat production in 2005 is attributable to outbreaks of Newcastle disease (NCD) in some farms in Botswana and RSA, as well as, avian influenza in ostriches in RSA and Zimbabwe. Similarly, imports of chicken meat increased over time (Figure 2). Increased imports observed in 2009 are attributable to increased population of immigrants from neighbouring countries due to political and economic reasons, and an outbreak of Foot and Mouth Disease (FMD) in Gantsi District. The FMD outbreak resulted in movement restrictions of beef, chevon (goat meat), mutton and pork, thus contributing to increased demand for poultry meat.

Figure 1. Chicken meat production in Botswana from 2004 to 2009

Figure 2. Poultry meat imports from 2004 to 2009

In Botswana, chickens are processed and sold to the retail market (e.g., restaurants, supermarkets, and wholesalers), meat processing plants and training institutions. Some birds are sold live and these are mainly from the small-scale poultry enterprises that lack slaughter and cooling facilities to process chickens. Although small, the live market plays an important role in traditional ceremonies such as healing rituals. A significant proportion of spent hens from commercial egg production and breeding facilities are also disposed of through this market outlet.

Poultry meat imports

Table 1 presents imports of turkey, duck, guinea fowl, quail, pheasant and geese, as well as, FPC. The imports are dominated by FPC followed by turkey. It is clear from Table 1 that FPC imports increased over time with the highest increases observed in 2007 and 2008. This indicates that there is a need to consider producing FPC in Botswana. The decline of FPC imports in 2009 is attributable to outbreak of FMD in Gantsi District, which resulted in increased demand for chicken due to movement restrictions placed on beef and other livestock products.

Per capita consumption of poultry products

The per capita consumption values of both poultry meat and table eggs are given in Table 2. As shown in Table 2, the per capita consumption of poultry meat and table eggs increased over time. From 2004 to 2009, the consumption per capita of poultry meat and table eggs increased on average by 0.96 kg and 4.4 kg per year, respectively. It is evident from Table 2 that per capita consumption of poultry meat declined sharply in 2005. The decline is ascribable mainly to NCD and avian influenza outbreaks in ostriches in RSA and Zimbabwe. These outbreaks resulted in movement restrictions of poultry and poultry products leading to less hatching eggs and breeder birds imported. Compared to present, Botswana was heavily dependent on neighbouring countries for both hatching eggs and breeders in 2005. However, the situation has since changed as the country now produces about 95% of its broiler requirements (Moreki 2010).

Prospects for the future

• Increased imports of FPC calls for their increased production locally. Producing FPC locally would save the country the much needed foreign exchange and contribute to job creation

• Production of quality meat for local and export markets

• Farmers should be encouraged to consider undertaking commercial turkey production as a way of diversifying the poultry sub-sector. Turkey meat imports have increased significantly.

Challenges

Some constraints in the poultry meat industry include:

• Lack of slaughter facilities, especially for small-scale farmers resulting in poorly processed birds;

• Inadequate extension service, e.g., mobile inspection;

• Inadequacy of transport hampers meat inspection activities leading to slow implementation of the Livestock and Meat Industries Act;

• Unorganized marketing;

• Poor quality feeds (nutrition);

• Lack of cold chain leads to meat spoilage;

• Lack of utilities such as water, electricity and telephone system in the farms (Mosinyi 1999; Moreki 2008).

Conclusions

• Small-scale farmers lack slaughter facilities, thus leading to poultry meat being processed under unhygienic conditions to the detriment of the consumers.
• Generally, poultry meat is produced under unsatisfactory hygienic conditions. This indicates that there is need for extension service to intensify farmer training on meat processing.

Acknowledgement

The assistance of Mr S Tjetjoo for the provision of some data is gratefully acknowledged.

References

Anon 2009 Botswana Review (28th Edition). R&T Directories (PTY) LTD. Gaborone, Botswana. 72, 74, 76.

Botswana Institute of Development Policy Analysis 2006 Prospects for export diversification in Botswana. 87.

Chang Hui-Shung (Christie) 2007 Analysis of the Philippine Chicken Industry: Commercial versus backyard sectors. Asian Journal of Agriculture and Development 4(1): 41-52.

Groom G M 1990 CIHEAM – Options Méditerranéennes, Sér. A/ no7, 1990 – L’aviculture en Méditerranée. 205-210.

Kelebemang G N 2009 2008/09 Poultry and Rabbit Annual Report. Department of Animal Production, Ministry of Agriculture, Gaborone, Botswana.

Kelebemang G N 2010 Poultry and Rabbit Annual Report 2009/10. Department of Animal Production, Ministry of Agriculture, Gaborone, Botswana.

Moreki J C 2008 Current status of livestock production in Botswana. AgriNews 38(12): 7, 14-16.

Moreki J C 2010 Opportunities and challenges for the Botswana poultry industry in the 21st century: a review.  Livestock Research for Rural Development. Volume 22, Article #5 Retrieved June 9, 2011, from http://www.lrrd.org/lrrd22/5/moreb22089.htm

Mosinyi I 1999 Factors affecting the development of poultry and poultry products in Botswana. In, National Workshop on Food Industry in Botswana, 18^th to 19^th August 1998. 298-31.

Received 24 June 2011; Accepted 26 June 2011; Published 1 July 2011

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