Reduced prevalence of severe and moderate household food insecurity

By 2030, the Government of Botswana will develop and rollout the national nutrition-sensitive agriculture strategy to ensure increased access to diversified, organic, nutrient-rich agricultural produce from 49.4 to 19% of moderate and severe food insecure households.

** Household food insecurity baseline (2022/23 by Statistics Botswana): households with severe food insecurity - 20.2%; households with moderate food insecurity - 29.2%; and food secure households 50.6% **

The revised commitment aligns with the GNR's emphasis on: 1. integrating nutrition into agriculture systems; 2. addressing malnutrition through multi-sectoral approaches; and 3. setting clear, measurable targets to track progress.

Primary Indicator 1: Percentage of households with moderate and severe food insecurity with access to diversified, nutrient-rich agricultural produce.

- KPI: Reduce moderate and severe household food insecurity from 49.4% to 19% by 2030.

Primary Indicator 2: Number of agricultural extension workers trained in nutrition-sensitive practices.

- KPI: Train 500 agricultural extension workers by 2026.

Primary Indicator 3: Increase in production and availability of organic, nutrient-dense crops.

- KPI: Increase production of organic nutrient-dense crops from 40% to 70% by 2030.

Primary Indicator 4: Integration of nutrition objectives into national agricultural policies and strategies.

- KPI: Develop and implement at least 3 nutrition-sensitive agricultural strategies by 2027.

With increasing severity of food insecurity, there is possibility for individuals to experience reduced quantity of food consumed as portion sizes are reduced. In some cases they eat less and meals are skipped. At the most severe level of food insecurity, they can go without eating for a day or more, with some members of the population experiencing hunger.

The surveys results showed that at national level, moderate or severe food insecurity, increased from 50.8 percent in 2018/19 to 51.1 percent in 2020/21, and to 53.3 percent in 2021/22. In the year 2022/23 the population proportion which experienced Moderate or severe food insecurity reduced from 53.3 to 49.4 percent.

The prevalence of moderate food insecurity in the population showed some fluctuations across the years with an increase from 28.6 percent in 2018/19 to 30.9 percent in 2020/21, followed by a decline to 27.1 percent in 2021/22 and reverting to an increase to 29.2 in 2022/23. The percentage of the population experiencing severe food insecurity decreased from 22.2 percent in 2018/19 to 20.2 percent in 2020/21, followed by an increase to 26.2 percent in 2021/22 before experiencing a significant reduction to 20.2 percent in 2022/23.