Commercialization of Sorghum Milling in Botswana: Trends and Prospects
2011
k mupanda | d rohrbach | t seleka
Commercial sorghum processing in Botswana has grown rapidly during the past decade. The number of sorghummillers has increased four-fold, and sorghum meal has become competitive with maize in urban and rural foodmarkets.In early 1999, ICRISAT conducted a study of the factors underlying this growth, and the prospects for furthermarket expansion. The study showed that growth was driven largely by four factors: the traditional consumerpreference for sorghum meal; strong financial support to millers from the government; the availability of reliable,high-quality supplies of grain; and effective promot ion of processing technology by a parastatal agency.However, development of the milling industry had little impact on domestic sorghum production. Productivity inBotswana remains too low for the crop to compete with South African imports, and only 2% of the industry'sgrain purchases are grown domestically.Key issues likely to affect future expansion include the identification of alternative sources of grain supplies(e.g. Zimbabwe); improvements in product promot ion, market intelligence, and product differentiation (e.g.targeting distinct products for breakfast porridge vs stiff porridge); and the prospects for industry consolidationinto a few larger millers. While the Botswana case is not specifically replicable in neighboring countries, thestimulus created by linking technology, finance, and raw material supply offers important lessons for thedevelopment of commercial crop processing throughout southern Africa
Показать больше [+] Меньше [-]D Rohrbach, K Mupanda, T Seleka, 'Commercialization of Sorghum Milling in Botswana: Trends and Prospects', International Crops Research Institute for the Semi-Arid Tropics, 2011
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