Attachments
1.0 INTRODUCTION
1.1 Botswana is semi-arid, due to the short rain season. The dry season lasts from April to October in the south and to November in the north where rainfall totals are mostly higher. The whole country has hot summers with average temperatures around 26 °c (78.8 °f).
1.2 The distribution of the rainfall was poor both in space and time.
Some isolated areas received extremely heavy downpours within a day or two, whereas the bulk of the areas received little to no rainfall. Most districts received rainfall amounts of less than 20mm.
High temperatures were also recorded in the western side of the country.
1.3 Hydrologically, the western and the southern parts of the country continue to be mostly affected, as compared to the northern and some parts of the eastern side. These harsh conditions adversely affect the already fragile food and agricultural systems in the country and this has serious effects on the rural economy and welfare of the rural population.
1.4 The 2018/19 Drought and Household Food Security (DHFS) outlook was undertaken from the 23rd to 31st March 2019. The assessment was undertaken by six teams ranging from 6-9 officers. The teams visited all the ten rural districts and discussed sectoral reports generated by District Disaster Management Committees. In addition, field visits were conducted.
1.5 The purpose of this summary report is to present a synopsis of the findings derived from the 2018/19 Drought and Household Food Security Assessment. The overall objective of the assessment is to determine current levels of human vulnerability and the possible effects of the observed impacts of the rainfall levels in the agricultural sector, human water supply, vulnerable groups feeding and rural income and livelihoods.