09 Jun 2024

Batswana should brace themselves for a severe cereal shortage following the declaration of 2024 as a drought year, says Minister of  Agriculture, Mr Fidelis Molao.

He said this year’s El Nino-induced drought had resulted in the delayed onset of rains and extensive dry spells which negatively affected the agricultural sector.

Briefing the media on the sidelines of the Rural Development Council meeting, Mr Molao said it was anticipated that the national cereal yield would be only six per cent of the 300 000 tonnes of cereals needed  annually, noting that the expected yield was even lower than last year’s yield of 12 per cent.

He said a comparative analysis between national crop yields and the cereal requirements revealed that the yields did not meet the country’s demand.

He noted that it could lead to the country being overly dependent on imports, adding that the low yields had far reaching implications on the livelihoods of many households, particularly small holders and that it could result in a serious food deficit at family level.

To deal with the effects of  low rainfall in the horticultural sector, Mr Molao said government incorporated crop irrigation in the Temo  Letlotlo programme as a way of mitigating the effects of drought.

He said the Thuo Letlotlo programme also had a water development aspect which would enable farmers to drill and connect boreholes for ploughing and irrigating animal feeds during drought spells.

For his part, Assistant Minister of Local Government and Rural Development, Mr Mabuse Pule said his ministry was committed to  relieving rural area dwellers from the hardship of the drought since they were most vulnerable.

 “Rural Area  Dwellers (RADs) seem to be more vulnerable during the  drought period due to various factors like lack of economic activities and jobs in their area,  but I nonetheless need to emphasise that the ministry will continue to drive rural enterprise development through funding support and coordination of community projects,” he said . Mr Mabuse said the ministry would consider tailor-made drought relief programmes for RADs for their sustenance during the drought season.

He said his ministry might consider increasing the Ipelegeng quota to cater for RADs and that the school feeding programme could also be upgraded to improve children nutrition. Ends