Fresh or sour, milk is an incredibly popular product within Botswana. Whether it is the daily consumption of fresh milk with Nescafe or the celebratory sour milk, madila, the nation holds a special place for dairy products.
Despite this drive for dairy, Botswana experiences a large deficit in local production and imports nearly 90% of its dairy products to meet the nation’s demands. This supply is brought in primarily from its southern neighbor, South Africa. Additional dairy products are also flown in from Botswana’s northern neighbors and Europe. This creates additional pressure on constrained domestic producers who are already hindered by a lack of quality feed, genetics and financing. In addition, water access is a concern in many areas, specifically northern Botswana.
The country, however, is on the precipice of change as factors are aligning that could signal increased growth for the dairy sector. Increasing economic advancement is leading to a rise in demand for dairy products like yogurt and cheese. At the same time, the prized beef sector is waning due to EU standards concerning foot and mouth disease. The return on beef production for farmers is continuously declining, and herd sizes are declining to follow suit. According to anecdotal reports, more is spent on milk imports than is received from beef production. Coupling this deficit with an expected dissipation of diamond reserves, the Government of Botswana has increasingly vocalized its interest and need to diversify economic drivers. The dairy sector has been identified as a priority sector.
At present, there are a few larger herds that are responsible for supplying a majority of domestic milk production. One of these dairies is SunnySide Dairy, based about an hour away from the capital city of Gaborone in southern Botswana. Sunnyside Dairy is run by a lovely Dutch couple who started their careers operating dairy farms in South Africa. Their current operation currently milks 750 cows and averages 30 liters of milk per cow a day. This herd alone is responsible for 60 to 70% of Botswana’s domestic production. It is estimated that the national demand is close to 65 million liters annually. Botswana could be well on its way to near self-sufficiency in the dairy sector when considering Sunnyside and the previously discussed Milk Afric project. Larger dairies are more common in the southern part of the country where water access is more reliable and there is closer access to materials and expertise from South Africa.
However, these producers are not exempt from the industry’s continued dependence on South Africa. Larger dairies are often able to achieve exceptional productivity because of high-quality feed imported from South Africa for it’s consistency in both product and quality that is more challenging to source locally. Prices in both local and international feed vary drastically in response to droughts, competing external markets, and governmental subsidies. These factors multiply existing hardships and increase financial instability within dairy production, particularly for smaller producers. Larger producers have more leverage to contract feedstuffs and other inputs at competitive prices due to scale and are more effective at insulating themselves from the impacts of financial stressors. Unfortunately, this leaves the small herds exposed and at a disadvantage. In this environment it will take a community of support to ensure the continued success of the industry.
Another limiting, yet crucial, factor is the lack of cows and improved genetics. Botswana has over 2 million cattle, but the majority of these cows are for beef production or indigenous cattle and are not optimized for milk production. Most milk cows currently in Botswana are imported from South Africa. Other areas with improved dairy genetics are much further away (EU, US, Australia, New Zealand, etc.) and are prohibitively expensive for most dairies. There is presently a deficit for milk cows in Botswana due to a ban on importing cattle into the country from South Africa. A current outbreak of foot and mouth disease in South Africa has closed the borders for the present moment and will limit the ability of dairies to quickly scale operations and efficiency.
In spite of challenges facing the dairy industry, it is beginning to make a dent towards the prioritization of domestically produced milk. The Milk Importation Committee is a collection of milk producers, processors, and government officials who meet monthly to discuss the state of the dairy industry. Of particular interest in this meeting is the development of contracts with processors in-country. Processors in-country are required to source primarily from local producers before importing raw milk. While domestic production is fully accounted for, there are still challenges with effective pricing. Beyond local procurement, the government also works to ensure there is sufficient feed and medicine available and provides subsidies on genetic material and feed during drought.
Hopefully the growing dairy community will eventually supply the majority of raw material for popular products lining the store shelves, including fresh milk, yogurts (tubs more so than drinking), and boxed UHT milk. This disruption of the historical importation of South African milk by big brands like Clover, a South African company, and Parmalat, controlled by the French group Lactalis, could be a game changer not only for dairy producers but for all those involved in the value chain. Sally Dairy is the largest domestically owned processing facility and would greatly benefit from increased local availability of a high-quality domestic product.
Common dairy products in Botswana include:
UHT milk
- UHT stands for ultra-high temperature and refers to a pasteurization technique that is meant to keep milk shelf-stable for a long period of time. This type of milk does not need to be refrigerated until opened and can be found in tetra packs or plastic bags. The pasteurization technique can lead to a “cooked” flavor in the milk. This type of milk is often present in areas where cold chain facilities or local dairy production are limited.
Fresh milk
- Given the proximity of South Africa and some larger scale dairies in the Southern part of the country, fresh milk is available throughout Botswana. Most is imported and almost all is processed by South African processors. Farm gate milk price in South Africa is 1.63 pula (2.2 rand) compared to 5.5 pula in Botswana which makes the Botswana market incredibly attractive for SA producers.
Tub yogurt and drinkable yogurt
- These value added dairy products are popular in both tub and drinkable formats. They are also often made by the same large-scale dairy/fresh milk processors. Drinkable yogurts add for more flexibility in where you can consume them and are sometimes less viscous than tub yogurts. Tub yogurt, however, has a larger market. Our host Nonny produces a rich thick drinking yogurt that could pass for a tub yogurt.
Madila
- This sour milk drink is consumed at special events, such as weddings, funerals, and other celebrations. Some people also consume it daily. It can be made from fresh milk that has spoiled slightly or through the introduction of specific cultures.
Dairy juice
- Dairy juice is a fruit-forward drink supplemented by skimmed milk powder. The milk powder content is limited but impacts the mouthfeel of the drink.
Cheese & butter
- Largely supplied through international importers; limited, but growing market for cheese
The future of the industry is on the moo-ve. With increased interest from both internal and external investors to support domestic development, the potential of production and processing improvements are huge. It is likely that in this environment the industry will be able to effectively reduce their dependence on international sources and enhance internal capabilities.
SMART 2020: Botswana 