The farmers helping Botswana boost its food production

Willy Kathurima and his wife Doreen are among a handful of farmers taking advantage of Botswana’s push to expand food production by increasing local expertise in horticulture. Tshiamo Tabane reports on how the couple launched their business, Ramaphatle Greens, which produces strawberries, garlic and ginger.

- Tshiamo Tabane

Less than an hour's drive west of Botswana's capital, Gaborone, is the small farming community Ramaphatle, and it is here that Willy Kathurima and his wife Doreen have set up a thriving farming operation to produce strawberries, garlic and ginger. The motto of their business, Ramaphatle Greens, is 'smart horticulture farming', which underlines their ambition to produce high-quality crops both profitably and sustainably.

They started production in 2018 with tomatoes, green peppers and cucumbers destined for retailers in Gaborone. The Kathurimas very soon discovered, however, that the tomato and pepper markets were saturated, so they ventured into ginger, garlic and strawberries instead.

The shift to these commodities proved to be a remarkable stroke of luck: two years after the business opened, the COVID-19 pandemic hit, pushing demand for ginger and garlic to new heights as word spread that these crops had immune-boosting properties, and they became key ingredients in home concoctions and diets.

TRAINING AND SUPPORT

To understand how to produce these two crops, the couple enlisted the help of the Ginger, Garlic & Turmeric Farmers' Group, which they joined to receive technical training and support.

They started their garlic production with caution, planting only 1ha; the crop thrived, however, and appeared easy to grow. The returns were also encouraging, and in 2021 they expanded production to 2,5ha. They discovered while doing so that garlic seed was one of the most expensive inputs.

"In 2022, we decided to invest in garlic seed, and were able to cultivate a substantial amount of garlic for seed and to supply the local market," says Doreen.

Production of ginger began almost simultaneously on 0,25ha, and the entire crop was sold.

"We're currently multiplying ginger seed for our own planting, and we're also seeing high demand in the market," she adds.