Food And agriculture Organisation Country Programming Framework for Botswana
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1 INTRODUCTIONBotswana signed to membership of the Food & Agriculture Organization (FAO) on 21st March 1987. Within the United Nations (UN) system, FAO has a special responsibility for food security and rural development. Its main mandate is to raise levels of nutrition and standards of living, to improve agricultural productivity and to better the condition of rural populations. Since FAO started its operation in Botswana, assistance has been in the form of agricultural support systems; emergency response operations; investment support; and, policy assistance. The programme has offered short-term expert and consultant services; capacity building; and, equipment and supplies. These interventions have occurred during a period of a changing economic land scape. Since independence in 1966, Botswana’s economy experienced rapid growth with the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) averaging 8.7% per annum. This growth propelled the country to an upper middle income and medium human development status. The 2007/08 Human Development Index (HDI) ranks the country at 124, which is, 70 places below its per capita GDP rank of 54. This gap reflects the unique development challenges Botswana faces: First, the HIV and AIDS burden, which has cut life expectancy by about 20 years from its peak of 67 years in the 1990’s (Human Development Report 2007/2008, National Development Plan Ten 10, 2010–2016). The need for economic diversification and continued priority to HIV/AIDS prevention and impact mitigation is clearly articulated in these reports. Second, is pervasive poverty (20.7%) (Botswana Core Welfare Indicator (Poverty) Survey 2009, Statistics Botswana, 2011). The poverty and inequality challenges are said to be attributable to the heavy dependence of the mining sector, which is capital rather than labour intensive. This is further exacerbated by the relatively poor performance of the agricultural sector; and, the consequent limited economic diversification. The third challenge relates to the inequalities inherent in the population with a Gini index of 0.61 (2007). In 2007, a joint Common Country Assessment (CCA), between the Government of Botswana (GoB) and the UN System in Botswana further identified a number of challenges and provided a basis for establishing a consensus on priorities in which GoB would draw upon UN support. It was agreed that these priorities should be aligned to the country development planning process i.e. National Development (NDP) 10, which is in turn deliberately aligned to Vision 2016 (covering the period 2010-2016). Hence, the United Nations Development Assistance Framework (UNDAF) for Botswana explicitly supports the Vision 2016 programme, NDP10 and the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs). Consequently, to structure UN collective support to these national development priorities, GoB and the UN Country Team (UNCT) agreed on a ‘One Programme’ approach in the next cycle of the UNDAF, (2010-2016). Recently, the FAO country Office developed a Concept Note to define mutually agreed priorities to be supported through FAO technical cooperation activities. The Concept Note (CN) describes an approach for formulating a Country Programming Framework (CPF) for FAO Botswana. Taking into account Botswana-specific context, the CN identifies the main actors, including the role of FAO, and describes the formulation process, the roadmap, communication, resource mobilisation and resources partners’ environment. Hence, the CN is meant to facilitate adequate planning for both human and financial resources in support of the CPF formulation process. FAO and GoB are therefore embarking on the CPF formulation process to define those mutually agreed priorities for development needs and interests that are to be supported through FAO technical cooperation activities for the period 2013-2015. These activities are based on the National Development Plan, Common Country Assessment, Vision 2016 and lessons learned from past cooperation with FAO. The purpose of the FAO Country Programming Framework (CPF) is to;
The CPF will guide FAO on how best to support the aspirations and development needs of the people and GoB. While aligned to FAO’s Strategic Objectives and mandate areas, it will also fully support key national policies, development strategies and programmes. The CPF, therefore, aims to strengthen the effectiveness, impact and visibility of FAO assistance to the GoB and also seeks to strengthen partnerships with non-state and international development actors in responding to the agricultural, food and nutrition insecurity, environmental and climate change-induced challenges facing Botswana. It will focus on three selected priorities areas which have been agreed to, through a process of consultation with relevant government ministries, development partners, civil society organisations (CSO’s) and other stakeholders. The three areas are guided by country needs, development priorities and the UN common programming principles of gender equality, environmental sustainability, capacity development, human rights-based approach and results-based management. 2 SITUATION ANALYSIS2.1 Country ProfileBotswana is located in southern Africa and bounded by latitudes 18°S–27°S and longitudes 20°E–29°E. The country has a semi-arid climate, with highly variable rainfall incidence, both spatially and temporally with common dry spells during the cropping season and droughts that occur between the years. The annual average precipitation is highest in the extreme north with 650 mm and minimum of 250 mm per year; in the extreme southwest. This scenario has periodically lead to crop failure and hence hunger and food challenges. Since independence in 1966, Botswana’s economy has experienced rapid growth due to mineral revenues, with an average GDP of 8.7% per year. As of now the country is an upper middle income and medium human development country. The latest Human Development Index (HDI) shows that it is ranked 124, i.e. 70 places below its per capita GDP rank of 54. This gap reflects the unique development challenges the country faces. First, the HIV & AIDS burden, which has cut the life expectancy by almost 20 years from a peak of 67 years in the 90’s (HDR 2007/2008). Second is the issue which relates to the inherent pervasive poverty at 30.3% (Household Income & Expenditure Survey, HIES 2002/2003). Third, is the level of inequality with a Gini index of 6.1. During NDP 9 the country recorded progress in some of the following areas (GoB-UN Programme Operational Plan 2010-2014):
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