Presented at the Agri4D 2013 conference at the session on Transforming Gender Roles in Agriculture: - Ways Forward

1. Gender, Agriculture and Food Security
in Botswana
By Onalenna Selolwane

2. 
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Largely dependent on rainfall
Almost all the grains (sorghum, maize and
millet) are priduced through rainfed
agriculture using mixed crop cropping systems
The sector is dominated by small scale
producers cultivating fields 5ha and below. But
also has medium scale farmers (5 ha and 15 ha)
Larger farmers plough more than 15 ha, with
only 2% ploughing more than 300 ha

3. 
Crop production
contributes less than 20% agricultural GDP
 provides on average 20% of the national demand for
grains, 15% of the demand for vegetables, 25% of the
demand for fruits
 Has highly variable output: with grains varying
from 8.2 thousand to 175 thousand metric tons.
 Female farmers are more involved in crops than in
the livestock sector


4. 
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Because crop production is largely rainfed, rainfall
patterns play a very significant role in the crop sector
But rainfall is very low and highly variable within and
between years
Within a twenty year cycle there will be
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years of relative wetness where rainfall is mostly above average
and years of mostly below average rainfall and even serious
drought.
When the wet has steady, generous rain that allows for
optimum
plant
growth
and
respectable
harvests, Batswana define this pattern as female rains.
Male rains are those that are inadequate in the
provision of sustained moisture and expected volume
of harvests

5. 
the soils
Drought exacerbates
deficiencies of the soil
 Reduces capacity of
fertilisers to enrich the
soil
 Results in soils that
have low capacity to
retain moisture
 Reduces productivity


crop production
Insufficient moisture
inhibits plant
germination and
growth
 Reduces capacity of
plants to absorb
nutients from fertilizers
 Leads to low and
erratic yields.
 Makes crop production
highly risky.


6. 
Male Farmers
Have relatively better
access to cattle draught
power
 Have relatively higher
cash income earnings
 Tend to have better
balance of male and
female labour, so on
average

 Plough larger fields
 Produce relatively igher

Female Farmers
Have less access to
cattle draught
power, and
 Also tend to have less
cash income and
investible resources,
 Also challenged by
limited access to male
labour, so

 Rely on borrowing and
tend to plough smaller
fields
 Tend to have lower
output

7. 

Botswana’s low and erratic rainfall conditions
have historically resulted in low and erratic
crop outputs.
Among households still dependent on
cropping, food strategies have relied on
combining on farm production with a wide
variety of off farm activities

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Wage employment
Sale of crafts and veld products
Subsistence gathring and hunting.

8. 
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Wage employment for most people does not provide
sufficient income to meet household food and other
requirements
Rural households that are food secure are those with
principal members engaged in cash employment and
investing in crop production
The least food secure are those whose crop output falls
below 60% of the caloric needs of the family, but
cannot make up the deficit through cash purchases
Because both crop production and cash employment
do not provide adequately for the rural
households, many depend on government support.
Women account for a significant proportion of those
with food deficits.

9. 

Botswana’s harsh physical environment has always
undermined household and national capacity for food
production
But a number of new and persistent threats are adding
to the precarious situation and these include:
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Global warming and declining water resources
Urbanization and urban sprawl eating arable fields to grow
houses
Heavy imports that undercut local crop prices
Aging population of farmers and declining youth participation
Persisting lack of innovation and technology
Persisting weak agricultural infrastructure
Sluggish markets and marketing infrastructure

10. 
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Crop Production Has Mostly been dominated by
staples and other traditional crops
But crop diversification offers new opportunities
that might expand the food security and cash
income position of small scale farmers and women
in particular.
These include small scale irrigation based
horticulticaltural produce
 Animals feeds
 Fruits

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Irrigation is grossly underdeveloped and its
potential underutilized in Botswana

11. 
Although Botswana’s Vision 2016 envisages an
innovative society, the education strategy has not been
geared at creative an innovative and productive society
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Like most African countries Botswana has focussed on
achieving basic education for all at the expense of higher
education where innovation effectively begins.
This compares unfavourably with north African and middle
east countries which had lower levels of education among the
working age population but have now reached more than 50%
working age piopulation in higher education.
Botswana has only belated strated refocussing away from
producing public servants towards training for
science, technology and private sector skill requirements.
There is great potential to use education for skill development
and innovation.