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Periodical article Periodical article Leiden University catalogue Leiden University catalogue WorldCat catalogue WorldCat
Title:Rainfall and agricultural production in Botswana
Author:Vossen, Paul
Year:1990
Periodical:Afrika Focus
Volume:6
Issue:2
Pages:141-155
Language:English
Geographic term:Botswana
Subjects:agricultural policy
rain
agricultural production
External link:https://www.researchgate.net/publication/26569593
Abstract:In Botswana, a country with a typical semiarid climate, a study was carried out on the relations between rainy season quality and agricultural production, as part of the 1983-1987 project 'Strengthening of National Meteorological Services' of the World Meteorological Organisation, which is one of the United Nations agencies. The purpose of the study was to provide the national government with a reliable method for timely areawise livestock performance and the crop yield monitoring and for quantitative assessment of the national cattle herd size, the cattle death ratio, the total planted area and crop yields, using only weather data as input information. Some of the main results are summarized in this article and put within the more general framework of national agricultural planning and decisionmaking. It appears that the interannual variability of traditional, rainfed agricultural production in Botswana is almost completely accounted for by the quality of the rainy season. The variability of the national cattle death ratio, the total planted area and crop yields are for more than 95 percent accounted for by rainy season conditions. As a result, the nutritional state of the population highly correlates with rainfall. Note, ref., sum.
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