ABSTRACT
Botswana's independence in September 1966 came at the end of a series of severe drought years which had lasted for more than five years. The concern over the effects of drought on the livestock sector is a result of the importance of the beef industry in Botswana's economy, at least during the immediate post independence period. The drought resulted in the loss of about 400,000 cattle and left about one-fifth of the population depending on drought relief food rations. Once the economy had been established on a firm basis in the early 1970s, the government developed a broad-based rural development strategy. The labor-based relief program is a cash-for-work program in which participants receive a wage for participating in a village project. The National Food Strategy should be seen against the government's longstanding commitment to promote rural development and productive employment opportunities in the rural areas.
