UNDP, BITRI, Ministry of Agriculture join forces in pursuit of smart agriculture In an effort to drive Botswana to becoming food self-sufficient and secure, the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), the Botswana Innovation Technology and Research Institute (BITRI) and the Ministry of Agriculture and Food Security (MADFS) recently unveiled a manual on Climate Smart Agriculture (CSA). The manual was put together after the realisation that climate change will continue to affect farmer’s yields; thus negatively affecting the local food security and ultimately self-sufficiency. Launched on Thursday 11th July 2019, the manual titled ‘Climate Smart Agriculture: Insights from Practice’ is a product formulated through the different stakeholders (BITRI, UNDP through the Global Environment Facility (GEF)/ Small Grants Programme (GEF/SGP), MADFS as well as smallholder farmers in the Kgalagadi South and Borolong Sub Districts. According to a communique from BITRI, the agricultural sector has experienced a range of vulnerabilities and high variability of climatic conditions across the country which affects especially smallholder farmers. Through the ‘Insights from Practice’ CSA manual will be rolled out to famers through the Ministry which has a database of all the farmers in the country. “Climate change has been regarded as a serious natural disaster that leads…