Government Launches Poultry Financial Suite to Boost Industry

Government Launches Poultry Financial Suite to Boost Industry. The Government of Botswana has unveiled a revamped Poultry Financial Suite through the Citizen Entrepreneurial Development Agency (CEDA), aimed at expanding the country’s poultry industry and reducing reliance on imports. The launch took place in Gaborone this morning.

The financial package targets key areas across the poultry value chain, including project preparation, hatchery production, abattoir processing, chicken farming, feed mill production, and indigenous chicken farming.

Currently, Botswana’s poultry sector contributes 1.3% to GDP, employs about 25,000 people, and generates over P3 billion annually. The country produces 52 million kilograms of chicken meat, 19.6 million dozen eggs, and 260,000 tonnes of feed each year. Despite this, Botswana imports processed poultry products worth P96 million annually, a gap government intends to close through citizen empowerment and investment.

Speaking at the launch, Minister of Trade and Entrepreneurship Tiroaone Ntsima said the government’s target is to increase local chicken meat production from 52 million kilograms to more than 70 million kilograms annually within two years.

He added that government is integrating community-based poultry farmers into the national school feeding programme, a market estimated at P1 billion annually, to expand opportunities for local producers.

Ntsima also raised concerns about oligopolistic tendencies in feed supply, chick production, and processing, noting that while dominant players have ensured stability, they have limited competition and citizen participation.

The revamped Poultry Financial Suite is expected to drive economic diversification, job creation, and food security, positioning poultry farming as one of Botswana’s key growth industries