One of the root causes of food insecurity is poor and inconsistent food production. Botswana’s farmers are hampered by a tempestuous climate that threatens frequent droughts. The Kalahari Desert extends into the country and the arid climate causes large temperature fluctuations; this makes growing crops extremely difficult.
Botswana has not been spared by the wave of COVID-19,” says Jimmy Opelo, Permanent Secretary at Botswana’s agricultural ministry, who revealed how his country has had to change its tack on farm and food policymaking due to the pandemic.
The World Bank has warned that disruption to production and supply chains could ‘spark a food security crisis’ in Africa, forecasting a fall in farm production of up to 7%, if there are restrictions to trade, and a 25% decline in food imports.
Botswana hopes to access some of the €2 billion earmarked by the European Union for sub-Saharan African countries affected by the pandemic, and Opelo points out that being classified as a middle-income country means that funds from EU programmes have become harder to access.
That funding could allow the country to return to the long-term plans to boost production and infrastructure.
