The Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) has provided the government of Botswana with technical assistance to to develop climate resilient farming systems in Botswana.
It is understood that the assistance falls under the Climate Smart Agriculture (CSA) project initiated on the instance of the government of Botswana.
The FAO, in a Twitter post, noted that the CSA project is financially supported by the Italian government.
‘To mitigate climate change effects, [Botswana government] sought technical assistance from [FAO Botswana] through financial assistance from [the] Italian government to develop climate resilient farming systems’, FAO Botswana said.
According to the World Bank, Botswana is considered highly vulnerable to climate variability and change due to its high dependence on rain-fed agriculture and natural resources, high levels of poverty, particularly in rural areas, and a low adaptive capacity to deal with these expected changes.
Botswana is one of the world’s most drought-prone countries, with multiple, multi-year droughts recorded since the 1950s.
The country is battling serious chronic food insecurity, with over ten percent of its population facing food and nutrition problems.
The International Trade Administration (ITA), in 2021, noted that while agriculture comprises only two percent of Botswana GDP, it is vital to the livelihood of many citizens who operate subsistence farms.
The European Union (EU), in a 2021 report, noted that about 70 percent of rural households in Botswana derived part of their livelihoods from agriculture and crop production based mainly on rain-fed farming.
Data from the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) shows that rainfall tends to be erratic, unpredictable and highly spatial varied in Botswana.
According to the World Bank, the government of Botswana has shown commitment to supporting necessary mitigation and adaptation activities in order to reduce its vulnerability to climate change, and protect the livelihoods of its population.
Photo source: FAO Botswana
