Botswana’s Minister of Agriculture Patrick Ralotsia left the country on Thursday for Zimbabwe for a meeting with his Zimbabwean counterpart to discuss agricultural cooperation.
According to a press release from the ministry on Thursday, the two are expected to discuss collaboration on agricultural issues, especially foot mouth disease (FMD) and beef markets during the 3- day visit.
Botswana shares a large border with Zimbabwe to the north and issues of livestock movement between the two countries have often been identified as a major causal agent for FMD outbreaks in Botswana. The two countries have always collaborated on the issues of FMD and beef with Zimbabwe currently buying live animals from Botswana.
The southern African country has over the past few years see its beef market taking a major knock as it could not export to European Union (EU) markets following outbreaks of FMD, especially in the northern part of the country.
The two countries reached an agreement in 2013 that sees Zimbabwe buy live cattle from Botswana’s FMD red zones for slaughter. Enditem
Source: Xinhua
