El Niño-induced drought during the 2023/2024 cropping season has significantly impacted Botswana’s economy, leading to a 38 percent reduction in the country’s gross domestic product (GDP), according to a recent report by the Botswana Climate Change Network (BCCN).
Crop yields have plummeted from 206,572 metric tonnes in the 2021/2022 season to 125,184 metric tonnes in the 2022/2023 season. Cereal production now stands at only 23 percent of national needs, the BCCN revealed in its findings released recently.
The drought is attributed to climate change, which warms ocean waters and alters global rainfall patterns, fueling droughts and heavy floods that damage crops and kill livestock, the organization noted. Botswana is among Africa’s eight most affected countries, with the drought severely impacting food security and water availability.
Late last month, President Mokgweetsi Masisi declared the 2023/2024 season an “extreme agricultural year,” citing below-average rainfall throughout the southern African country during the rainy season from October 2023 to March 2024.
“Under the current climatic conditions, the reduction in Botswana’s GDP brought about by the drought equates to an annual $5.8 billion in losses for the country’s GDP in 2023,” the BCCN stated.
BCCN is a non-profit organization dedicated to strengthening capacity on climate change and advocating for the development and implementation of policies that support climate and environmental sustainability.
Reference(s):
Report: El-Nino-induced drought reduced Botswana's GDP by 38%
cgtn.com
