Government will spend P165 million on drought relief and other food safety net measures for young children and vulnerable members of society after a study revealed that the country's food security situation has deteriorated due to a partial drought in the 2011/12 agricultural seasons.According to a countrywide Crop Assessment Study conducted by the Ministry of Finance and Development Planning (MFDP), the immediate past ploughing season was characterised by long dry spells which resulted in crop failure and diminished livestock grazing areas across most parts of the country with the Bobirwa and the North West districts being the hardest hit.
This, MFDP report says, has accounted for the fall in this year's cereal production (sorghum, millet and maize) to only 34 percent of the country's 200,000 metric tonnes national requirement. The prevalence of underweight children was also found to have increased to above national targets."In view of the conditions, 2012/13 is declared a partial drought year and relief measures, actions and assistance are to be implemented for the period August 1, 2012 to March 31, 2013. Among the measures, include the provision of a second meal for primary schools in non-remote but hard-hit areas, which include Kgalagadi District, Kweneng West Sub-District, North West District, Gantsi District, Mabutsane Sub-District and Bobirwa Sub-District until the end of the 2012/13 financial year," reads the report.
