Okavango Delta in Botswana: A Socio-Economic Perspective
3.6 Agriculture in the Okavango Delta Region
Most food consumed by inhabitants of these towns is purchased, but several households grow maize in their gardens. The staple diet of inhabitants generally consists of maize and sorghum porridge and beans, bought from local supermarkets, fruit and vegetables such as squash, melons, oranges and cabbage, supplied by local vendors; and meat such as beef and goat, bought from local butcheries. Beer is rarely brewed in urban areas, but commercial beer, as well as traditional sorghum and maize beer is bought from local liquor outlets. Soured milk and bottled or canned soft drinks are also consumed. The consumption of chemically preserved canned drinks has greatly increased throughout the Okavango delta region with the spread of cash income (http://www.ubh.tripod ... htm).
Families in urban towns tend to live in square brick houses with corrugated iron roofs.
Most houses have electricity and cooking is done using gas stoves. Most houses have
western furniture and crockery, including beds. Most individuals living in these towns
also have family and relatives living in rural, agricultural villages in the delta, whom
they support by sending cash remittances (http://www.ubh.tripod ...htm).
with the most common mixture being that of cereals and cowpeas, melons and sweet sorghum (Makhwaje et
aI, 1995).The principal crops grown in the delta region include sorghum, maize and millet. The secondary crops include cowpeas, groundnuts, melons, pumpkins, sweet sorghum, courgettes, gourds and jugobeans. Sorghum is generally grown in the eastern edge of the delta and maize in the west. In the lower delta, near Maun, maize was the
predominant crop grown within the Molapo farming system. However, there has been a shift to sorghum due to unreliability of flooding in this lower region, which is essential in providing adequate moisture for the production of maize. Higher up in the delta and the Panhandle region, maize is still the predominant crop grown using the Molapo system, while millet and sorghum are grown within the dryland farming system.
Hambukushu and Wayeyi tribes generally grow millet, while Bakgalagadi and Batawana tribes generally grow sorghum. This is due to differences in dietary preferences between the tribal groups (Makhwaje et
aI, 1995).The average size of cropping areas in the Okavango delta region range between 0,5 to 16 hectares. Dryland cropping areas generally range between 0,5 to 6 hectares in size.
The most common crop management practices undertaken within the region include weeding, bird scaring, which is generally a female activity, with limited help from the men, and wildlife scaring, which is generally done at night and is solely a male activity (Makhwaje et
aI, 1995).In the Okavango delta region, crop yields tend to be higher from the Molapo system than the dryland farming system. This is generally due to the soils along and within the river beds and floodplains being more fertile and moist from the annual flooding.
However, actual yields are not easy to measure per hectare due to the unreliability of
farming in this region. The estimates, represented in Table 3.1 are, however, accepted
as average annual yields per household.
Table 3.1 : Crop Production Estimates by Farming System in Ngamiland District (70kg bagslhousehold)
Crop Dryland Molapo
Maize 1-3 3-10
Sorghum 1-6 2-6
Millet 1-8
-
Cowpeas 0-5
-
(Makhwaje et ai, 1995, p.25).
Most of the harvest is used for home consumption, but in some cases it is also used for trade and bartering. Much of the maize and sorghum yields are used for the brewing of beer, making porridge and occasionally sold to the Botswana Agricultural Marketing Board (BAMB) or other farmers. Secondary crops such as groundnuts and melons are used for both home consumption and sold (Makhwaje et ai, 1995).
3.6.2 Agricultural Production Constraints
In the Okavango delta region, the major problem faced by farmers regarding the production of crops is low yields. These low yields are the result of a number of
production constraints. Low rainfall levels are generally stated as the major constraint, especially within the dryland farming system. In the Molapo system the growth of weeds is the major constraint facing farmers. Damage caused by birds, although cited as a cause of yield losses, is more pronounced in the dryland farming system due to sorghum and millet being the main crops grown there. Poor soil fertility is also a problem generally associated with the dryland farming system. Within the Molapo and dryland farming systems, damage to crops caused by wildlife, such as elephants and antelope is often experienced. Elephants tend to damage fences allowing smaller animals to gain access to agricultural fields (Makhwaje et ai, 1995).
3.6.3 Horticultural Crops
In the Okavango delta and Ngamiland district as a whole, horticultural production is very limited. There is a large horticultural project in Seronga, owned by a local farmer