The decision to restrict the importation of selected vegetables and fruits in 2022 is bearing fruit, says President Dr Mokgweetsi Masisi. Delivering the State of the Nation Address (SONA) on Monday, Dr Masisi said the intervention had resulted in the decline of fresh produce import bill from P634 million in 2018 to P182 million in 2023. Dr Masisi said this had reduced the import bill by P452 million, which was a 71 per cent reduction. He said Botswana achieved this while simultaneously increasing its national capacity to produce the food it needed daily at both household and national levels. This demonstrated positive impact of the import restrictions on the country's import bill. He said the success of horticulture was facilitated by government�s initiative of providing an Impact Accelerator Facility to the tune of P70 million under the Transitional National Development Plan. This, he said, allowed for a 50 per cent grant to farmers and 50 percent contribution on their part. To date, 461 farmers across the country had benefited from the initiative. Dr Masisi said the scheme enabled farmers to equip their boreholes with solar energy and provided them with reservoirs and shade netting.That notwithstanding, he said, these notable gains were characterised by a painful transition of under-supply, low quality and increased cost. As part of developing value chains, the government would facilitate the establishment of a horticulture market in collaboration with the private sector.Dr Masisi said the horticulture market would begin operations by April 2024 and enhance self-reliance, access, competitiveness and price stability, the result of which would be the promotion of wider citizen participation in the agro-business and associated value chains.