Why Kathurima is shining in beef farming in Botswana

It is the most talked about past episode of Daring Abroad, the most liked and the most watched on YouTube. Yes, the story of Willie Kathurima, Tswana cattle farmer of Kenyan origin in Botswana. And I'm back at his farm three years later to find out what has changed. There has been awareness of the market, demand has been astronomical, we've had people call us from as far as America, China and all that because of the exposure you gave us. We've also improved on our cattle in terms of breeding, we have improved on the weights and the condition of the cattle. We've also done quite a bit of feeding and supply improvement. We now plant our own feed which is basically maize and sorghum and sunflower and lab lab. Kathurima sells meat to the Botswana Meat Commission. What we now take to a feedlot is probably 300 kg to BMC. We have done 400 kg for 50 of live weight. You deliver like what quantities, either per month or per year? We do quarterly sales, so we do about 300 in three months. Other than that we are also selling weaner heifers or heifers themselves, we are selling mothers, we have also been able to sell cow cows. We don't keep cows for more than six years. As we walk around, what could be the price of this one? This is a champion cow, a cementer, with a bit of horse tan or hair fod, and it is pregnant. This has been inseminated, it's pregnant. I would sell this for 15,000 pula, which is equivalent to 150,000 shillings. Kenya shillings? Yes, sir. The main breeds on Kathurima's farm are Cemental and Brahman, others are Charolais and Sussex. Right now in total, you have? Well, as a Botswana, we don't talk about numbers, you know, our culture doesn't allow me, but from a commercial perspective, those which are resident in this farm, which we are not selling, is about 650 breeding stock, and then, of course, we've got about 200, which should be going out in the next month or so. Mr. Tsepo, how is it? Sharp, sharp? I don't know, I'd say it's good. Kathurima is a land economist, and he's actively involved in setting up projects geared towards improving livelihoods from the property sector to farming. He has been hosting visitors from various parts of the world, including Kenyan leaders, for what is now commonly known as benchmarking. We've had county governors, we've had MCSs, members of parliament, individual business people who want to either get into cattle, or who want to see cattle. That's agritourism. I also learn from them, because they are systems that I've sat and listened, not just me, with my colleagues in this, farm workers, my family, and we have implemented some of the systems that they have discussed with us. So you're borrowing from each other, Kenya and Botswana borrowing. And when I go back to Kenya, other than being a celebrity, because of you, I do visit some of them, because we become friends, social media, and business relationships have been built out of that. Kathurima says one big lesson other countries can learn from Botswana is traceability of livestock. Botswana is at a very advanced level of managing stock theft. It's incredible how... Through tracing. Through tracing, traceability, and also the policing aspect of it. And people awareness. You know, we formed committees, stock theft neighborhood committees, where my workers in the farm are able to report an incidence by suspicion or otherwise. And the police, who are not very far from here, they are camping all over the place, will be able to react within 10 minutes there. The neighborhood should have neighborhood watch, they should have police services available within a short distance, a mobile or telephony, whichever way. I mean, these days, cell phone. We are connected, literally. Internet, everything else. Not just this farm. Literally every other farm, even traditional cattle posts. And that is something that I think Kenya and other countries can borrow from. The way we manage... And the issue of standards. And standards, and the traceability, the kind of arrangement that we've done. I mean, when you look at that animal, for instance, or any other, you see all of them are tagged. What you see on the tag there is in the government server system. Server system. Yes. Is it electronic? It is electronic. So how does it work? When we sell, we've got to invite the police to come and issue a movement permit. And whoever is moving has to be registered. We've got to invite the veterinary to also come and issue and make sure that the records are in the government system. Electronically. It is done from the farm. And by the way, it is not only an EU or a registered farm like this one. Even in the cattle posts. These days we do all that. That is a policy that you cannot run away from. So I cannot move this animal to another farm or to some place somewhere, some slaughter or butchery or whatever it is, before there is the police and the administrative aspect of the animal, which is the veterinary services and the livestock issues. And also myself. I've got to be able to be cleared. I've got to have a card. I can show you. We carry it. It's like a registration card. That is part of my registration. And I cannot give my worker like him to go and sell my cattle. I can do it with an affidavit from the police. And I've got to put my registration card, which is commissioned by a commission of votes, either through the police or my office. So there's a lot. How about those that are roaming or not roaming or free-range? Even them, they are supposed to be tagged. They have got a brand and identification. If it doesn't have and it gets lost, then that's a government property. Generally, what you see here are male cattle. Most of them we sell as mature booze. Yes, these are all male cattle. Kathurima has invested in other sectors of agriculture. We now move to horticulture. Hello, gentlemen. How are you? You brought this guy? What motivated you to diversify into horticulture? You see, every product is seasonal in some way or the other. Cattle have to take time, eight, nine months, just like humans, to calve. It takes time for them to grow, to take to the markets. Now, I realize that the opportunities for us to have an income stream from January to December, you need to diversify. We had opportunities to buy land, and this is what we've done. We've also gone into small stock, sheep and goats. We've also gone into cereal production of maize and related things. We are doing beetroots there. We are doing watermelon. We are going to do a bit of onions, off-season, so that in case there's a failure or there's a failure of harvest in any given time, that can give us a buffer. It can give us a boost. What's your biggest challenge? Disease. Disease? Yes. Mainly on tomato, it's very sensitive. The cost of inputs, chemicals, it's very expensive. The fertilizers are very expensive. So really, the biggest challenge is management of the whole of that spectrum. Our market is large. Botswana now, we've realized that we can actually do without interventions from outside the country. We've been importing most of the horticultural products, but with setups like this, with a lot of government intervention and persuasion. The government has, in most cases, decided to close borders for, say, the rest of the countries around to bring in product. So for Willy Kathurima, it's all systems go for diversification, to make it big in farming, in a country where climatic conditions may not be that favorable for farming. But he believes it can be done. For Daring Abroad, I'm Alex Chamada in Botswana.