Botswana’s commercial cattle subsector grew by 12.3 percent between 2015 and 2025, with the number of commercial cattle holdings increasing during the period, Statistics Botswana has revealed.
The findings are contained in the 2025 National Agriculture Census Livestock Report, whose preliminary results were released in Gaborone on Wednesday.
Commercial cattle production generally involves large-scale farmers, many of whom sell cattle to the Botswana Meat Commission (BMC) for beef exports.
Despite the growth in the commercial subsector, Botswana’s overall cattle herd declined by 6.1 percent, from 1,744,166 cattle in 2015 to 1,638,543 in 2025.
Statistics Botswana found that the decline was concentrated in the traditional cattle subsector.
Traditional cattle holdings declined by 6.4 percent, while the traditional cattle population fell by 13.1 percent, from 1,360,467 cattle to 1,182,804.
Statistician General Dr Khaufelo Lekobane, while officially presenting the findings, said the commercial cattle population also increased by 18.8 percent.
He said the average commercial herd size increased from 295 cattle per holding in 2015 to 312 in 2025, describing the finding as important.
“It tells us that the national decline does not represent a uniform experience across the cattle industry,” he said.
“There has been contraction in the traditional subsector, alongside expansion in the commercial subsector. This is precisely why disaggregated official statistics matter.”
For his part, Deputy Permanent Secretary responsible for Livestock Farming in the Ministry of Lands and Agriculture, Dr Kefentse Motshegwa, said agriculture remains an important sector of Botswana’s economy and a major source of livelihoods for many citizens, particularly in rural areas.
Dr Motshegwa said the livestock subsector has historically played an important role in household livelihoods, food security, employment and income generation, while cattle have also been an important component of Botswana’s agricultural exports.
“It is therefore important that Government, farmers, development partners, researchers and other stakeholders have access to reliable and up-to-date information on the state of our livestock resources.”
Herd dynamics
Meanwhile, Dr Lekobane said the census also provides important information on livestock population dynamics.
According to the report, cattle births declined by 14.3 percent, from approximately 436,283 in 2015 to 373,807 in 2025.
Cattle deaths, on the other hand, increased by 30.7 percent, from approximately 109,453 to 143,076.
“The cattle birth rate increased from 56.7 percent to 68.5 percent, while the death rate increased from 6.3 percent to 8.7 percent.”
Dr Lekobane emphasised that the figures are important indicators of livestock population dynamics.
“However, I want to make an important statistical distinction. Livestock population change is not determined by births and deaths alone.”
Sales, slaughter, imports, exports and other livestock movements also affect the size of the national herd, Dr Lekobane explained.
“Therefore, the Census provides strong evidence on what has changed, while a complete explanation of the factors behind those changes requires analysis of other relevant data.”
