09 Nov 2016

In an effort to increase food security and rural house hold income in Botswana, UNDP had on Tuesday (November 8), donated fire-fighting equipment and climate smart agriculture tools to subsistence farmers in Ngamiland district.

This initiative, according to UNDP acting programme specialist, Mr Mmolotsi Mokotedi, was in line with their mandate on enhancing sustainable development and poverty eradication.

Mr Mokotedi who was speaking during the handing over of the equipment admitted that agriculture contributed immensely to the communities’ livelihood but the dilemma was its vulnerability to droughts and rainfall variability.

 For instance, he said during the past last 25 years, the country was affected by at least five major droughts.

“This left the poorest and the disadvantaged groups’ food insecure as they tend to depend on climate-sensitive livelihoods such as agriculture, which makes them disproportionately vulnerable,” said Mr Mokotedi.

In this context, Mr Mokotedi commended  government for its high levels of financial and extension support to the agricultural sector to address its vulnerability, through programmes such as ISPAAD as well as availing credit opportunities for farmers through Citizen Entrepreneurship Development Agency (CEDA) and National development Bank (NDB).

However, he said this needed to be complimented by support and other innovative ideas from variety of stakeholders including development partners and non-state actors in order to enhance agricultural production and reduce the vulnerability of small scale farmers.

“I strongly believe all of us must join hands to ensure that we take Botswana to a point where the rural households are food secure, and can sustainably feed themselves and complement the market with surplus farm produce and the value added agricultural by-products for local economic development,” explained Mr Mokotedi.

Further he said it was on this basis that UNDP through the Sustainable Land Management (SLM) Ngamiland Project in partnership with department of crop production introduced conservation agriculture to the small-scale farmers in the district as an initiative to capacitate communities for food security of environmentally friendly methods and implements.

The process, he said included different types of minimum tillage farming implements meant to assist small scale farmers.

As for veldt fires, Mr Mokotedi said the frequency of fires in Ngamiland has to be reduced to at least one in three years to allow for recovery of vegetation post fires.

He said UNDP was supporting Tsodilo Enclave fire management strategy produced by department of forestry and range resources through capacity building for communities and the provision of fire-fighting equipment set through the SLM projects.

“It is our wish that the equipment will be used effectively to reduce the frequency of fires in Tsodilo enclave area as well as help improve the quality of the range,” he said.  ENDS