This is so because farming in that country is commercial. Most of the other countries are dependant on food aid and imports. This drastic change has nothing to do with lack of resources such as water or arable land. Some African countries, including Botswana, have the potential to produce more grain than the entire United States of America (USA). The problem is rather a lack of political will and policies that prevent agricultural industries from reaching their optimal potential.
The government of Botswana seems to be convinced that subsistence farming (Temo ya go jela mo ganong) is the panacea to resolving the problem of food shortage in this country. This is demonstrated by the newly introduced scheme Integrated Support Programme for Arable Agriculture (ISPAA), which to me sounds like a new form of a combination of the former Accelerated Rainfed Arable Farming (ARAP) and Arable Land Development Programme (ALDEP). ARAP and ALDEP failed before and there is nothing to suggest that there are measures in place to avoid past tragedies with past policies. Provision of free seeds, provision of free draught power and clustered fencing (terata ya kgoganyo masimo le mafudiso), have been there before, but we do not have anything to show as far as their contribution to development of the agriculture sector and food security in this country. Maybe the only noticeably difference is the name.
