BOTSWANA (6 June)
Below normal rainfall during the 2004/05 agricultural season points to less than favourable harvest of sorghum, the country’s main staple foodcrop. FAO estimates total cereal production at about 18 000 tonnes, some 1 000 tonnes below last year’s near-normal output. Earlier a statement from the Ministry of Agriculture had indicated that cereal plantings were substantially reduced this season due to the erratic and insufficient rainfall. Domestic cereal production in Botswana typically amounts to 5-10 percent of the country’s total needs. The remainder is covered by commercial imports.
The cattle industry is Botswana's second largest foreign currency earner after diamonds. Cattle have been affected by successive outbreaks of foot-and-mouth disease resulting in loss of access to European markets. Recently the Government unveiled a plan to battle and eventually eradicate this disease.