Building climate resilience of agricultural systems in the North-East and Central districts of Botswana

The project aims to support approximately 86,000 direct beneficiaries in Botswana's North-East and Central districts, where small-scale farmers are highly vulnerable to increasing drought frequency and intensity. The initiative focuses on three main outputs: improving national and local institutional capacity for climate-responsive planning, establishing and financing climate-resilient agricultural practices (such as drought-resistant seeds and livestock breeds), and strengthening climate information systems through the installation of five additional Automated Weather Stations. The project seeks USD 15 million in GCF grant funding, with a total indicative cost of USD 31.25 million, including co-financing from the Botswana government and state banks like the National Development Bank (NDB).

• Botswana is experiencing an increase in drought frequency, moving from once per decade in the late 1900s to once every five years over the last two decades.
• Small-scale farmers in Botswana are significantly more vulnerable to drought than commercial farmers; during the 2015 drought, commercial farmers achieved over 400% higher productivity (t/ha) than small-scale farmers.
• Climate change is projected to cause a 10% decline in overall agricultural output across Botswana by 2050, with cereal crop production specifically expected to decline by 19%.
• A primary barrier to adaptation is the lack of dedicated climate adaptation loan programs at state-owned lenders like the National Development Bank (NDB) and the Citizen Entrepreneurial Development Agency (CEDA).
• The project will expand the climate observation network by installing five additional Automated Weather Stations (AWS), with two in the North-East district and three in the Central district.
• Adaptation measures for livestock include the multiplication of climate-resilient breeds through embryo transfers at Artificial Insemination Centres (AICs) and the use of mobile AICs for dissemination.
• The project will promote horticulture as a climate-resilient alternative to rain-fed crops because horticultural crops are generally irrigated and less exposed to non-drought impacts like hailstorms.
• The total indicative project cost is USD 31,250,000, with USD 15,000,000 requested from the GCF as a grant and USD 16,250,000 in co-finance from public and private sector entities.

APA

Green Climate Fund (2019). Building climate resilience of agricultural systems in the North-East and Central districts of Botswana. https://www.greenclimate.fund/sites/default/files/document/22510-building-climate-resilience-agricultural-systems-north-east-and-central-districts-botswana.pdf

Chicago

Green Climate Fund. Building climate resilience of agricultural systems in the North-East and Central districts of Botswana. 2019. https://www.greenclimate.fund/sites/default/files/document/22510-building-climate-resilience-agricultural-systems-north-east-and-central-districts-botswana.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |author=Green Climate Fund |title=Building climate resilience of agricultural systems in the North-East and Central districts of Botswana |date=18 November 2019 |url=https://www.greenclimate.fund/sites/default/files/document/22510-building-climate-resilience-agricultural-systems-north-east-and-central-districts-botswana.pdf |access-date=23 October 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{greenclimatefund2019building, author = {{Green Climate Fund}}, title = {{Building climate resilience of agricultural systems in the North-East and Central districts of Botswana}}, institution = {Green Climate Fund}, year = {2019}, month = nov, url = {https://www.greenclimate.fund/sites/default/files/document/22510-building-climate-resilience-agricultural-systems-north-east-and-central-districts-botswana.pdf}, urldate = {2026-10-23}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }