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Research

Ms. Anne Clift-Hill

Staff

Ms. Anne Clift-Hill

Lecturer


Faculty of Agriculture
Department of Agricultural and Biosystems Engineering(ABE)

P/Bag 0027, Gaborone Botswana
3650100
aclifthill@buan.ac.bw

Degrees

  • MSc in Agricultural Engineering (Soil and Water Engineering option), Cranfield University, UK (1985).
  • BA in Natural Sciences (Applied Biology), Newnham College, University of Cambridge, UK (1983).

Teaching interests

·        Soil plant water relations

·        Irrigation technology

Surface and subsurface land drainage

Primary Research Areas

  • Food security in Botswana

Potential Research topics 

  • Performance of constructed wetlands in Botswana
  • Performance of centre pivot irrigation systems in Botswana
  • Adaptive research on biobeds in Botswana

Abstract

 

Food security can be defined as ensuring that all people, at all times, have access to sufficient, safe and nutritious food that meets their dietary needs and preferences for an active and healthy life. Most countries aim to achieve food security by maximising production and thus reducing the reliance on imported food. Botswana is a net food importing developing country (NFIDC). The average annual food import bill over the last three years has been six billion Pula. The value of imported food as a proportion of all merchandise imports fell from 14.2% in 2000 to 8.7% in 2015. This resulted in Botswana’s ranking in the world moving from position 63 in 2000 to 100 in 2015.

In this study, data provided by Statistics Botswana were disaggregated to separate foodstuff from beverages and tobacco. Over the last three years, one fifth of imported food valued at just over one billion Pula per year, has been staple cereals (sorghum, maize and wheat). Seventy five per cent of all imports are from South Africa which makes the country’s position of food insecurity even more precarious. An argument is presented to encourage the irrigation of staple cereal crops so as to increase production and thus substitute for imports, create employment and improve the food security status of the country. In particular, it is argued that deficit irrigation should be adopted as a matter of policy, allowing the most efficient use of limited water resources and resultant increase in irrigated area and quantities of staple foods produced.

 

Journal Article Type

Article

Publication Date

March 12, 2019

Journal

Botswana Journal of Agriculture and Applied Sciences

Print ISSN

1815–5574

Electronic ISSN

2661–9000

Publisher

Botswana University of Agriculture and Natural Resources

Peer Reviewed

Peer Reviewed

Volume

13

Issue

No 1 (2019): Special Issue

Pages

43–50

DOI

https://bojaas.buan.ac.bw/

Keywords

Botswana, deficit irrigation, food imports, food security

Publisher URL

https://bojaas.buan.ac.bw/index.php/jaas/article/view/6