Botswana strives for food self-sufficiency

Botswana hopes to become self-sufficient in food production and cut its dependence on imports, President Ian Khama said at his inaugural State of the Nation address on Monday.

Opening the fifth session of the ninth Parliament, President Khama said through various initiatives under the Agricultural Hub, which has been set up to encourage greater commercialisation and sustainable diversification of the sector, food security is going to improve.

With growth rates averaging at least eight percent over the last two decades,  Botswana, which imports over 80 percent of its food requirements, has been left at the mercy of the rising international food prices, rendering the agricultural sector's contribution to the gross domestic product (GDP) almost negligible.

Editor's Comment
Inspect the voters' roll!

The recent disclosure by the IEC that 2,513 registrations have been turned down due to various irregularities should prompt all Batswana to meticulously review the voters' rolls and address concerns about rejected registrations.The disparities flagged by the IEC are troubling and emphasise the significance of rigorous voter registration processes.Out of the rejected registrations, 29 individuals were disqualified due to non-existent Omang...

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