The
Ministry of Agriculture is facing a shortage of livestock medicines
because of procurement problems. Director of Animal Health and
Production Dr Musa Fanikiso explained that the problem has been caused
by changes to the tendering system.
He said
that his department recently approved tenders for nine citizen-owned
companies and they are expecting deliveries sometime next week.
He said that they started experiencing serious
shortages three weeks ago after approving the tenders. "Prior to the
approval of tenders, we could purchase the supplies out-of-tender to
cater for the farmers," he said. Other reports say the shortage at the
Livestock Advisory Centre (LAC) has lasted more than two months and is
likely to get worse. By yesterday morning, the shelves at the LAC
headquarters were empty and a farmer who preferred not to be mentioned
by name alleged that basic medicines have not been available for months.
He
said that the only explanation he got was that suppliers, most of them
citizens, were not meeting deadlines. He complained of high prices at
private retailers whom he said sell the products at a price four times
higher than LAC.
He is worried that the shortage is likely to impact on the Citizen Entrepreneurial Agency (CEDA) Young Farmers Fund.
"What
is going to happen to young people who buy livestock with CEDA funds
when they find that there are no vaccines for their livestock? There is
no Pasturella and de-wormers and these are very important at this time
of the year," the farmer said.
Mothusi Gaorebone is another farmer who works in
Gaborone but keeps livestock at Lethaka cattle posts near the Tropic of
Capricorn said LAC is no longer providing good service. "I have been
buying from LAC for years but I have observed that the service has gone
down in recent years," he said.
Gaorebone explained that it is critical to vaccinate livestock at a time when a new season is approaching and during the rains.
He
lamented that private retailers are very expensive. "We only go to the
private retailers when we have no option because they sell the vaccines
at a price four or five times higher than LAC," he said. (LINK)
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