Matambo uneasy as crop output falls 30%

Official production figures from the cropping season were published on Tuesday showing that Botswana faces a 462,000 tonne cereal deficit.  This follows a disastrous season in which a prolonged dry spell saw production fall to 66,000 tonnes from 94,436 tonnes in the 2016-2017 season. Cereals in Botswana include maize, sorghum and millet.

The 30% drop was the third worst contraction in the region after Lesotho and Zambia. The estimated total area planted decreased to 185,700 hectares from 284,500 hectares the previous season, as farmers gave up on the rains, which eventually arrived mid-February.