Transforming Agriculture

 A UDC government will raise productivity  in agriculture and transform substantial low-productivity unpaid  

self-employment and family labor into higher productivity paid  employment. We estimate job creation potential at 3,000 jobs.  In these regards, the UDC shall: 

• Improve the quality and impact of agricultural extension services through quality relevant pre-service and in-service training of agricultural extension workers. 

• Facilitate, through effective agricultural extension services, the up-take of modern productivity enhancing technologies and husbandry techniques in both arable and livestock farming. This includes technology intensive production techniques such as hydroponics, aquaponics and agricultural  

intensification.  

• Provide essential infrastructure in agricultural production areas, especially electricity, water and roads in communal farming areas to reduce production costs and improve access to both product and input markets. 

• Secure high value export markets for products in which Botswana has comparative advantage, especially sheep and  goat meat. 

• Monitor and regulate the agricultural value chain to ensure that the share of the farm-gate prices in the final prices paid  by consumers provides adequate incentives for the growth and development of the primary production base.  

• Improve regulation to make it easy for farmers to engage in other economic activities on farmland, including tourism and retail services where opportunity exists. 

• Review agriculture incentive programs in favor of a shift towards outputs rather than inputs to facilitate  

transformation. The gap between agricultural productivity in Botswana and  the highest levels of agricultural productivity in the world  is explained primarily by gaps in technology, infrastructure services, management and market development. These are the gaps the UDC will close