History and Present Status of Ostrich Farming in Botswana

Abstract

Botswana boasts the world's largest population of wild ostriches estimated at approximately 60000 while farmed ostriches are less than 400. In this review, the history of the ostrich industry in Botswana is described and the current status is highlighted. Commercial ostrich farming in Botswana started in the early 1980s with the capture of birds from the wild, purchase of birds from local farmers, and importation of adult birds from neighboring countries, such as Namibia, South Africa, and Zimbabwe. However, the industry has not performed well over time as shown by a sharp decline in farmed ostrich populations which deleteriously affected throughput. To date, there is no commercial ostrich farming in Botswana indicating the collapse of the industry. This is despite the existence of favorable climatic conditions and government support in the form of provision of technical support through Ministry of Agriculture extension services, provision of loans at highly subsidized interest rates through Citizen Entrepreneurial Development Agency (CEDA), the existence of the EU accredited export abattoir and establishment of Dibete Ostrich Multiplication Unit (DOMU). The major challenges affecting the ostrich industry are frequent closures of the abattoir, lack of access to finance/credit, inadequacy of extension service, high feed expense, and unreliable feed supply. For the industry to be revived, it is recommended that government develops a special support program that subsidizes feed and ostrich stock, as well as, encouraging the formation of producer cooperative societies. In addition, participation of the private sector is paramount in the resuscitation of the ostrich industry.