Disaster looms as drought pushes farmers to the brink
Friday, February 01, 2019
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A survey released last week by the UN’s Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) confirms what many around the country already fear: the poor rains in the first half of the season and their inconsistency in the second have driven away farmers from the fields, blighted crops and left livestock teetering on the brink.
While in the 2016/17 season, a record 100,250 farmers planted a record 384,250 hectares, this year’s El Nino effect dried up the first half of the rain season, keeping even the most optimistic of farmers off the fields.“Since the start of the 2018/19 cropping season in October, anomalous dry conditions have developed across parts of Southern Africa, with more intense moisture deficits registered in Botswana, Namibia and South Africa,” reads the FAO report.
These roads, which are vital conduits for trade and tourism, have long been in dire need of repair. However, while this development is undoubtedly a positive step, it also raises questions about broader issues of infrastructural management and road safety that deserve closer scrutiny.The A3 and A33 roads are not just any roads, they are critical arteries that connect Botswana to its neighbours and facilitate the movement of goods and people...