This week, we shall conclude our discussion on food security. In 2022, the Global Food Security Index put South Africa in 59th position in terms of overall food security thus making it the most food- secure country in all Africa. A major reason for this excellent performance by our neighbour is the implementation of a number of projects that are making great strides in increasing food production.

One such project is Grain SA’s Farmer Development Programme [ FDP]. Since the early 2000s, the programme has been investing in the sustainable development of emerging smallholder farmers from subsistence to commercial production. The programme has, however, realised that there are some problems that might negatively affect progress in achieving this aim.

Firstly, developing farmers often lack the knowledge, skills and experience which are required to become commercial farmers and expand production. To deal with this issue, Grain SA helps to arrange study groups where farmers can learn from one another – no farmer can ever stop learning something new in farming! They also arrange demonstration trials and farmers’ days that provide hands- on training. Farmers may also be mentored by more experienced farmers. And Grain SA disseminates valuable information via Pula Imvula, its monthly magazine which is published in five major South African languages – English, Sotho, Tswana, Zulu and Xhosa. Topics covered include, amongst others, seed and cultivar selection, weed control, soil health, and financial and production planning. Recommended crops could include genetically modified [ GM] crops. Such crops might be altered such that they are more resistant to pests, and can better survive in extreme heat and cold and droughts. In Botswana, the Ministry of Agriculture publishes a monthly magazine for farmers, Agrinews. This is a good magazine, but perhaps it needs to focus more on the knowledge and skills that are required to farm successfully in our unforgiving environment. And maybe it can be also published in Tswana.

Secondly, limited access to finance. The programme also teaches farmers the financial skills that they need to grow their operations profitably and guides them into financial maturity. So, this assistance is more than just giving out free cash!

Finally, lack of access to land. Many developing farmers only have access to land of low agricultural potential and which is often communal land that is not fenced. Through the FDP, Grain SA seeks to help farmers find solutions to this problem.

Overall, Grain SA’s FDP supports more than 15 000 farmers. Since the programme has been successful, perhaps we could implement a similar programme in Botswana?

So far, we have discussed on how improvements in crop farming can result in more food security. But there is also plenty of scope for improvements in the livestock sub sector. Across much of Africa, and elsewhere in the developing world, livestock farming has resulted in widespread environmental degradation. High stocking rates in areas of unreliable rainfall and poor rangelands have too often resulted in overgrazing and soil erosion. Good quality grasses have disappeared, only to be replaced by grasses of lower quality and woody thorn plants. To restore rangelands, farmers need to reduce the size of their herds [ destocking]. However, this would be an unpopular measure for many given the importance of cattle in the social life of many rural communities. Other measures might include bush control and mixed stocking. Since cattle are responsible for most overgrazing in Africa, farmers could practise mixed stocking by rearing cattle along with other types of livestock, such as goats. Since goats are browsers, less grass will now be eaten. Farmers can also undertake rotational grazing. This entails dividing the farm into a number of fenced paddocks and moving the livestock from one paddock to another at regular intervals. Improving rangelands in these ways will enable

farmers to eventually increase stocking rates and so increase meat production.

Farmers can also improve the quality of their animals. For example, the Ministry of Agriculture has been conducting research at Sunnyside Farm, near Lobatse. The local Tswana cattle breed may tolerate our unfavourable climatic conditions but it only produces small quantities of milk. So, for this reason, this breed has been crossed with exotic breeds which produce good quantities of milk. These include European breeds such as Simmental, Jersey, Brown Swiss and Friesian. The result is animals that can both tolerate the climate and produce sufficient milk. Elsewhere, beef cattle breeds have also been crossed with one another to come up with a cross- bred beef animal that performs best, with reference to criteria such as weight at birth, weaning weight, weight at 18 months, calving percentage, etc.

The type of feed which farmers give to their animals is also of great importance. Although most animals feed directly on the veld, the grasses there may be of low quality. For this reason, farmers may have to provide supplementary feed to increase vitamin and mineral intake by their animals and so increase yields. Farmers who raise broiler chickens may find that feed costs make up almost 70 percent of total costs. Feeds, such as imported broiler starter and finisher mash, usually make up all their diet and are costly to buy. For example, 50 kg bags of broiler starter and finisher mash may cost P430 and P400 each respectively. Now farmers may raise broilers over a seven- week period during which time each broiler maybe consume some 4- 5kg of feed. So, this means that the cost of feeding each bird may be about P35- P40. If each broiler is sold for P65, then only some P25 or so per bird is left over to cover other costs and profit. For this reason, many people may now think twice before venturing into broiler production. Therefore, it is time to establish a local livestock feed industry which, hopefully, will reduce livestock costs.

Farmers also need to consider which types of livestock are most suitable for their location; for example, goats may be more drought tolerant than cattle. Goats are also generally easier to look after than cattle and are often managed by women and children. Ostriches are indigenous to southern Africa and so are tolerant of our semi- arid climate. For this reason, government needs to revitalise the ostrich industry in Botswana. And ostrich products include not only meat, but also eggs, egg shells, skin, bones, feet and feathers. So, there is money to be made here.

Finally, farmers can raise game animals, such as kudu, impala, eland, and springbok. In fact, many cattle farms in the Tuli Block have now been converted into game ranches since game animals are indigenous and more adapted to our climate than many breeds of cattle. Also, they eat a wider variety of plants in the veld, cause less trampling and loosening of the soil than cattle, are more resistant to local diseases and parasites, and their meat is leaner and so contains more protein and less fat than beef. To encourage farmers to venture into small stock and game farming, the P160 million Tsabong multi- species abattoir will be operational this year. And possible markets for our small stock have been identified in the Middle East.

In conclusion, Botswana, like many other African countries, has much to do to make food security a reality and, at the same time, to better ensure that farmers farm profitably and also protect the environment. But time is not on our side. The world’s population is set to reach a staggering 9.7 billion by 2050, and by then Africa’s population is expected to stand at 2.5 billion, almost double what it is today! However, the area of arable land under cultivation worldwide is expected to fall by some 24 percent between 2020 and 2060, a result of increasingly scarce water resources and soil degradation. So, let us walk the talk!