the role of tourism in natural resource management in the okavango ...

hectare minimum necessary for household self-sufficiency, even in years of
adequate rains. Only 112 farms were larger than 150 hectares. As a result, as much
as two-thirds of rural households are reported to depend for as much as 40 percent
of their income on members employed in the formal sectors (Van Buren, 2004).
Most traditional farmers only use draft animal power during ploughing, which
provides inadequate tillage. Typically, traditional farmers do not use agro-chemicals
or practise row planting, and generally fail to follow a proper cultivation calendar.
Consequently, they achieve very poor crop yields for the primary crops grown,
namely sorghum, maize, millet and beans, in comparison to the few larger scale
commercial rain fed farms in Botswana, and world averages. Several government
schemes such as the Arable Land Development Programme (ALDEP), and the
Financial Assistance Policy (FAP) are major factors in sustaining the farming
population. Furthermore, when programmes which support farmers are considered,
it is found that more is being spent by the government to sustain the arable sub­
sector than its contribution to GDP (Republic of Botswana Government White Paper
1, 2002). Clearly, there is a problem of sustainability.
According to the Republic of Botswana Poverty Study (1997), the average per capita
income for the rural population is about 1 500 Pula. However, the income of around
50 percent of landholders practising rain fed agriculture, who do not own cattle is
unlikely to exceed 1 000 Pula in one year. For such households, formal employment
at a minimum wage of 3 000 Pula per year would generally produce a higher income
and would therefore be more attractive.
It has also been found that the low levels of income and high risks associated with
traditional rain fed farming affects the age distribution of rural households. The
farming population is ageing, with the average age of male farmers being about 57
years. Rain fed farming is also undergoing a process of feminisation due to the
increasing out-migration of younger people, especially males, from rural areas in
search of urban-based livelihoods which are perceived to be more financially viable
and secure (Republic of Botswana Government White Paper 1, 2002).
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