CEDA secures P65 million
Citizen Entrepreneurship Development Agency (CEDA) is working on reengineering the country’s horticulture industry, a development expected to support the sector’s growth. With secured finance, obtained from the Ministry of Trade and Entrepreneurship, CEDA intends to craft new horticulture model under its subsidiary, Letsema Horticulture Market.
Caretaker Chief Executive Officer, Khalala Mokefane said government has made available P65 million, to address limitations in size, infrastructure capacity, and accessibility of Letsema Horticulture Market, a platform designed to revolutionize the sector. Despite its primary objective to create a centralised marketplace where local farmers, particularly small and medium-sized enterprises (SMMEs), were to sell produce directly to consumers and processors, the project has into a wholesale.
“Currently, Letsema is operating as a wholesaler, and the review model will ensure the market adopt agency model,” said Mokefane. Mokofane said the market will need a legislative framework to establish requisite legal provisions for mandatory product testing, import regulation and provisions to make Letsema sole market regulator for fresh produce imports. The CEO also emphasized the need to create value-chain integration with efficient inclusion of financing, logistics, technical services and nationwide cropping coordination, with national cropping plans for farmer groupings. CEDA believes efficient inclusion of financing, logistics, technical services and data warehousing and advanced analytics will increase value chain efficiency. Mokefane said assessment completed on the existing transitional facility, identified key gaps and plans are ongoing to develop a larger, purpose-built, and more accessible centre, moving away from the mini centre at Gaborone’s Block 3 industrial. So far, in-depth benchmarking has been completed with leading horticultural markets and a preferred model also identified. Apart from stakeholder engagements and secured finance, CEDA has also managed to negotiate for a 30 hectares of land from the National Agricultural Research and Development Institute (NARDI) for the establishment of the new Letsem horticulture Market.
The proposed facilities for Letsema will support the full horticultural value chain with cold storage rooms, manufacturing and agro-processing facility. “Youth farmers will also be allocated land in the surrounding area for horticultural production, promoting youth participation,” said Mokefane. Apart from engagements with Nardi for the provision of land for the market, Mokefane said the initiatives are also ahead for the procurement of consultancy engineers for the provision of architectural and engineering drawing designs of the new Letsema Horticulture Market, including project management services. The management services are expected to operate the letsema horticulture market. Mokefane said key stakeholders, Ministry of Lands and Agriculture Technical Partner, Botswana Agricultural Marketing Board Collection Centers & Technical, NARDI Land & Technical and the Ministry of Trade and Entrepreneurship Growers have rallied behind the project.
The proposed market operating model is expected to bring together growers - small scale, medium scale and commercial farmers. The project initiated in the last quarter of 2025/2026 is expected to be handed over during the second quarter of 2027/2028. In addition, the project’s timeline includes project initiation and mobilisation, procurement of the consulting engineers and management consultants, facility design concept, procurement contractor, construction of the facility, operational readiness and commissioning and eventually the handover and going live. So far, ahead of the schedule, CEDA is working on procurement of consultancy engineers for provision of architectural and engineering drawing Designs, Procurement of the Management Services, Procurement of services for sub-division and sectional tittles and Collection Center Design.