Local silos bursting despite growing drought :: Mmegi Online

Local farmers and the Botswana Agricultural Marketing Board made hay while the sun shone, recovering from the 2013 drought to post a bumper harvest last year. Ample grains from that season mean the forthcoming drought is not expected to significantly impact on food security, Staff Writer, MBONGENI MGUNI, finds out

With preliminary local, regional and national studies pointing to the near certainty of a drought this year, particularly in the southern parts of the country, questions have arisen about the country’s food security.

The last time a drought was declared in 2013, the country was forced to import maize after local reserves ran out. For 2015, the option of importing from South Africa will be limited because that country also suffered low rainfall and heat conditions during the cropping season and consequently expects to have to import.

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