Cabinet will consider the 2015/16 drought assessment report submitted recently at its meeting on Wednesday, a day after the P445 million relief announced last year comes to an end. Three years of successive drought have hit the country's livestock and arable farming sectors hard, due to lack of sufficient rains across the country leading to depletion of pastures and water resources, which have in turn hit communal farmers hard. Consequently, local cereal production fell 90 per cent last year to just 22 000 tonnes, prompting President Ian Khama to declare a drought and extend a P445 million support for the agriculture sector. After the Wednesday cabinet meeting Government is expected to announce further relief to mitigate the impact of drought, currently ravaging the country. Communal pastoral farmers constitute over 80 per cent of the Botswana Meat Commission (BMC) suppliers of stock, which in turn makes up to approximately 20 percent of exports to the lucrative European Union market, raking in millions of pula for the abattoir and by extension the national economy. Drought subsidies Persistent droughts have also led to crop failure and dwindling yields. The resultant crop failures have worsened food insecurity and created demand for government intervention to…