Enhancing and linking local horticultural produce to higher markets in the Okavango Primary tabs

Tourism is the highest second foreign capital earning entity to the Botswana national economy, with the Okavango Delta being a primary destination. Annually, an estimated 50,000 travellers visit the Okavango Delta, presenting opportunities for consumptive and non-consumptive products and services use and provision. However, local residents’ participation in the tourism sector have been largely limited to selective job creation and payment of royalties to local communities. The Botswana government and its partners have engaged interventions to increase local participation in the tourism with notable success. The increasing tourism in the Okavango Delta indicate that other avenues exist to harness local communities’ benefits from the tourism industry value chain. For example, only an estimated 15% of fresh produce consumed in the Okavango is locally sourced-a figure that could be increased to the benefit of local communities.

OKACOM is enhancing horticultural production and linkage to the higher up-market tourism value chain and other local markets in the Ngamiland and Okavango Sub-Districts of Botswana through demonstration of climate-smart agricultural practices; while linking horticultural production with the up-market tourism value chain and other local markets. The horticulture demonstration project forms part of Community-based climate change adaptation measures that are being demonstrated to improve food security and resilience through application of alternative/conservation agricultural practices. Specifically, OKACOM is supporting the establishment of climate-smart agriculture infrastructures (construction of shade nets, water supply and irrigation systems), capacitating local horticulture farmers, access to skilled horticulture mentors/extensions and facilitating farmers produce to higher-end tourism and local markets. For demonstration purposes OKACOM identified 20 farmers within the two sub-districts mentioned earlier. Implementing partners for horticulture demonstration projects include the Botswana Ministry of Agricultural Development and Food Security, Botswana Horticulture Council (BoHoCo), Ngamiland Horticulture Growers Association (NHOGA) and Ngamiland Council of Non-Governmental Organisations (NCONGO). Among others, the demonstration project aims to empower local farmers (including capacity building, climate smart infrastructure development and market informed cropping calendars and soil management informed by laboratory analysis) to increase horticultural crop yields through alternative climate-smart agricultural practices. In addition, farmers are capacitated to produce quality products to meet the need of the high-end tourism market in the Okavango and to explore the opportunities for high value-addition in horticulture production.