Two-month BMC payment delays test Boko’s beef reforms

Sunday Standard Two-month BMC payment delays test Boko’s beef reforms Two months after delivering cattle to the Botswana Meat Commission (BMC), a growing number of farmers in Ngamiland are still waiting to be paid, exposing persistent weaknesses in reforms meant to restore confidence in the country’s state-owned beef processor. The delays have sparked plans for a petition by the Ngamiland Joint Farmers Association, which says producers who supplied more than 800 cattle to the Maun abattoir under BMC’s live-weight procurement model remain out of pocket despite assurances that payments would be made within days. Association chairman Frank Mafela said the prolonged wait has left farmers struggling to service bank loans, pay school fees and finance day-to-day farming operations. “We were told the era of delayed payments was over, yet two months later many of our members have still not been paid,” Mafela said. “We are engaging BMC, but if nothing changes we will have no choice but to petition.” The association also questions why some farmers who delivered cattle during the same period have been paid while others continue to wait, saying the lack of transparency is eroding confidence in the commission. The delays come less than a year after President Duma Boko identified BMC’s turnaround as a government priority. Central to that strategy was a commitment to pay farmers within seven days of slaughter or delivery, replacing a system that had become synonymous with chronic arrears. Government also introduced the live-weight procurement model to improve price transparency and accelerate payments, particularly in Ngamiland, where cattle are marketed under the Commodity-Based Trade framework because of Foot and Mouth Disease restrictions. For livestock producers, the two-month payment backlog suggests operational reforms have yet to translate into improved cash flow, threatening confidence in one of Botswana’s most important agricultural institutions. The post Two-month BMC payment delays test Boko’s beef reforms first appeared on Sunday Standard and is written by Sunday Standard Reporter