ABSTRACT
This chapter provides an analysis of responses to drought in Botswana. It examines some of the impacts of drought and drought relief measures on the Basarwa of Botswana. While intended ostensibly to assist those households without livestock or other visible means of support, the state largely neglected the considerable proportion of households living beyond the reach of villages. In 1975 the Government of Botswana embarked on a major land reform and livestock development program. Known as the Tribal Grazing Land Policy, this effort was geared toward the commercialization of the livestock industry, range conservation, and reduction of the gap in incomes between rich and poor in Botswana. Palliative measures taken by the government to compensate Basarwa for their disadvantages, such as occasional or even sustained provision of food, temporary employment, and inputs such as seeds, can be seen objectively as an attempt to disguise the nature of the dispossession process which has led to dependency.
