16 Jul 2019

With the agricultural sector becoming more vulnerable to climate change, there is need to come up with strategies to mitigate its effects through the use of climate-smart agriculture technologies.

It was for this reason that the Botswana Institute for Technology Research and Innovation (BITRI) in collaboration with the Global Environment Facility / Small Grants Program (GEF/SGP) and the Ministry of Agricultural Development and Food Security recently held a dialogue session to contribute to the adoption of climate-resilient agriculture practices through information sharing on climate-smart agriculture.

Officiating at the dialogue session and launch of the three-year project, UN Resident coordinator Ms Jacinta Barrins said it was time to accept that climate change was a reality as its impact was visible in everyday life.

She, therefore, said there was a need for resolution efforts through best practices, policy discussion while projects should be put in place for climate-smart agriculture implementation in Botswana.

She expressed appreciation to all the stakeholders and institutions who rendered their support to ensure the climate-smart project implementation becomes a success.

“I am aware that this session has attracted farmers, agronomists, extensions officers, private sector and researchers throughout the country whose interest and mandate are on food security with reference to arable farming in the country.

It is a pleasure for me to recognise your efforts as you have taken the first step to impact the lives of farmers,” Ms Barrins said. The project supported by GEF/SGP at UNDP is funded at a tune of US$50 000.

Its mandate is to complement government efforts in promoting the adoption of Climate Smart Agriculture under the theme: Climate Smart Agriculture as a tool to Attain Food Security for Batswana and Resilience to Climate Change.

Ms Barrins said the project targeted small- scale arable farmers and was piloted in the Barolong and Kgalagadi South Sub-districts.

She noted that it was critical to ensure that supporting community-led strategies, field-tested technologies and implementation of innovative methods have potential and the means to reduce threats to the global environment, generate benefits, improve the livelihood of communities.

Ms Barrins also stated that agriculture was fundamental for food production in Botswana, therefore it was important to do everything possible to make sure food security was achieved.

She said focus should be on meeting the obligations to produce and attain food security for the country under the new realities of climate change and variability.

When giving project overview, associate researcher from BITRI Ms Kgomotsego Motlopi said they had realised that farmers were innovative hence the need ensure that their skills are refined and developed.

Ms Motlopi stated that in the three years of piloting climate-smart agriculture strategies they came across some challenges among them having to change the mindset of some participants.

“Farmers have different characteristics which needed to be observed.

This was taken into consideration because their lifestyles affected their day to day field tasks,” she said.

Another challenge, she said was lack of training among extension officers in regard to the new innovations and technologies set to implement climate-smart agriculture. Ends