New trade figures released this week reveal that Botswana has spent a staggering P9.2 billion on food imports from January through August 2025. This surge follows ongoing struggles within the country’s agricultural sector, which continues to underdeliver.
Throughout the first eight months of this year, Botswana’s local food production – encompassing farms and food processing industries, has shown little sign of improvement. The data reveals that the country’s cereal imports alone amounted to P1.6 billion, while expenditures on beverages, spirits, and vinegar reached P1.4 billion. Among the cereals, maize, rice, wheat, and sorghum dominated imports. In beverage categories, beer, bottled water, fermented drinks, vinegar, spirits, whiskies, vodka, and wine were the leading imports.
Botswana also funneled significant funds into imports of cereal preparations, flour, starch, and milk-based products totaling P817.8 million; sugar and confectionery at P796.4 million; vegetable, fruit, nut, and other plant preparations at P752.3 million; miscellaneous edible preparations at P706.3 million; animal and vegetable fats worth P535.8 million; dairy products, eggs, and natural honey at P529.6 million; prepared animal fodder at P461.8 million; fruits and nuts at P316.9 million; and coffee, tea, mate, and spices at P306 million.
Local farmers continue to face mounting challenges, notably from climate change, which has severely curtailed their ability to meet the country’s food demand. Analysts from the Ministry of Lands & Agriculture report that adverse weather conditions have caused rain-fed crop farming to plummet by 74 percent between 2021/2022 and 2023/2024. They observe that Botswana confronts a severe food deficit, as the crop sector fulfills a mere 17.3 percent of national food demand. Although the irrigated crop sector also grapples with difficulties, it holds significant promise for boosting food production, especially for crops unsuited to rain-fed farming. Additionally, analysts stress the urgent need to upgrade the nation’s food processing infrastructure and technology, citing the heavy reliance on imported processed foods, particularly for the tourism industry, as a major driver of the import bill.
The analysts highlight several opportunities to strengthen domestic production of cereals, oils, and animal feed, which could help curb the soaring import costs. “Emerging areas include rice cultivation in zones like Okavango and Chobe and the commercial potential of safflower as a drought-resilient crop for oil, feed, and soil health,” they explain. “These opportunities, backed by research and targeted pilot programs, can diversify and fortify the sector. The oil crop sub-sector, especially sunflower, groundnuts, and safflower, has strong potential to reduce dependency on imported cooking oil. However, a lack of local processing infrastructure forces most of the sunflower output to be exported.”
Beyond crops, other sub-sectors such as dairy and beekeeping could alleviate food import pressures. The dairy industry remains underwhelming, supplying only 12 percent of the estimated annual national milk demand of around 65 million liters. Low milk production reflects ongoing challenges: declining dairy cattle populations, waning farmer participation, high operational costs, limited land access, and restricted market opportunities for smallholder farmers. Meanwhile, the country’s honey demand stands at 62 tonnes annually, with local production covering less than 20 percent, resulting in an import shortfall exceeding 40 tonnes. Key obstacles in beekeeping include limited access to equipment and honey processing facilities, compounded by the growing threat of agrochemical use in crop farming, which jeopardizes bee populations, according to the Ministry of Lands & Agriculture.
Under the new National Development Plan (NDP 12), the Botswana government aims to transform agriculture into a robust industry capable of significantly increasing food production and reducing reliance on imports. The plan targets enhanced yields in cereals, milk, dairy products, fruits, and vegetables, the very commodities dominating food import figures. In 2024, food imports accounted for 21.7 percent of Botswana’s total import bill. The government is committed to gradually lowering this ratio, aiming to reduce food imports to 13.7 percent of overall imports by 2029/2030.
