Belbase, K., R. Morgan. 1994June. Food security and nutrition monitoring for drought relief management: the case of Botswana. Food policy 19 (3): 285-300.

Botswana presents an example of a relatively successful programme of drought relief management in the Southern African region. The programme has evolved over a long period and has been reasonably effective in safeguarding the welfare of vulnerable population groups, particularly during the long drought of 1982-87 as well as more recently in 1992. The key contributory factors include: a small and largely accessible national population, availability of domestic and international resources, existence of rural infrastructure, government commitment, district-level capacity and a timely and fairly comprehensive food security and nutrition monitoring system. The main focus of this paper is on the role of the food security and nutrition monitoring system in Botswana's drought relief management, the context for its operation, and its use in policy making and programme design. The evolution of the information system and institutional coordination thereof is traced with analysis of their strengths and weaknesses. In addition, the drought relief programme is assessed in the context of persistent poverty, growing inequalities and of recent changes which aim to bring about some reduction of state subsidies. Conclusions and policy implications are drawn and their relevance for other African countries is outlined.

Campbell, A. 1986July. The use of wild food plants, and drought in Botswana. Journal of arid environments 11 (1): 81-91.

Evans, Hugh. 1980March. Food processing in rural Botswana. League for International Food Education newsletter. p. 1-3.

The urbanization of Botswana has resulted in increased demands for processed foods. The establishment of domestic food processing plants can provide social benefits such as employment and income for rural communities and decreased expenditures on imported foods. Product criteria adopted by a local food processing unit included the availability of raw materials of consistent quality and the product's economic viability. After experimenting with many products, certain factors were identified as contributing to product failure: high prices, varying quality, and poor product image, among others. (kbc)

Lightfoot, C. 1982. Some suggestions for research needs in crop and livestock linkages. Proceedings of the Symposium on Botswana's First Livestock Development Project and Its Future Implications / Robert K. Hitchcock, ed. Gaborne : Natl. Inst. of Development and Cultural Research, Univ. College of Botswana, [1982]. p. 183-188.

Manani, T.A., E.K. Collison, S. Mpuchane, 2006November. Microflora of Minimally Processed Frozen Vegetables Sold in Gaborone, Botswana. Journal of food protection 69 (no. 11): 2581-2586.

Magwira, C.A., B.A. Gashe, E.K. Collison 2005Feb. .Prevalence and antibiotic resistance profiles of Escherichia coli O157:H7 in beef products from retail outlets in Gaborone, Botswana. Journal of food protection. 68 (no. 2): 403-406.

Four hundred meat samples (134 meat cubes, 133 minced meat, 133 fresh sausages) were collected from 15 supermarkets and butcheries in Gaborone, Botswana, between the summer months of October 2002 and March 2003. Samples were assayed for Escherichia coli O157 by selective enrichment in modified E. coli broth containing novobiocin, followed by immunomagnetic separation and plating onto sorbitol MacConkey agar supplemented with potassium tellurite. The isolates were biochemically and serologically confirmed by API 20E and O157 antisera, respectively. The prevalence rates for E. coli O157 were 5.22% in meat cube samples, 3.76% in minced meat samples, and 2.26% in fresh sausages. The isolates showed single, double, and triple antibiotic resistance. Fifty-three percent of them were resistant to cephalothin. Resistance was also recorded for sulphatriad (33%), colistin sulphate (26%), streptomycin (0.7%), and tetracycline (26%). It is recommended that the cause for antibiotic resistance be investigated using a larger number of samples from cattle, especially from ranching areas of the country.

Mason, J.B., J.G. Haaga, T.O. Maribe, G. Marks, V.J. Quinn. 1987. Using agricultural data for timely warning to prevent the effects of drought on child nutrition in Botswana. Ecology of food and nutrition. 19 (3):169-184.

Data from agricultural reporting systems in Botswana for the period 1978-83 are combined with data from the Ministry of Health's clinic-based nutritional surveillance system in a retrospective analysis to investigate the usefulness of agricultural indicators for timely warning of unusually severe child malnutrition due to drought. In the arable farming areas in eastern Botswana, deficits in an index of ground water sufficiency for maize growth during the growing season, (January-April) were associated with the deviation from trend to children's malnutrition (measured by weight-for-age) during the peak season for malnutrition, later in the year, across regions and over time. In arid Western Botswana, as well as the East, qualitative reports on the condition of cattle were also shown to useful predictors of child malnutrition. Decisions on the allocation of resources for relief could be made early in the year, based on agricultural data, even before confirmation from clinic data is available.

Mrema, N., S. Mpuchane, B.A. Gashe. 2006March. Prevalence of Salmonella in raw minced meat, raw fresh sausages and raw burger patties from retail outlets in Gaborone, Botswana. Food control 17(no. 3): . 207-212.

Murindamombe, G.Y., E.K. Collison, S.F. Mpuchane, B.A. Gashe. 2005February. Presence of Bacillus cereus in street foods in Gaborone Botswana. Journal of food protection. 68 (no. 2): 342-346.

The purpose of this study was to evaluate the microbiological safety and quality of street foods sold in Gaborone, Botswana. A total of 148 point-of-sale composite street food samples were bought and analyzed between June 2001 and May 2002. The analysis focused on the level of contamination of various street foods with Bacillus cereus. The B. cereus (vegetative and spores), total spore, and total viable counts were determined on all the samples. Also B. cereus isolates from 444 individual point-of-sale food samples were characterized with respect to their biochemical profiles and enterotoxigenic properties. The B. cereus contamination rate for point-of-sale foods was 65%. The B. cereus counts ranged from not detectable to levels as high as 9.1 log CFU/g. Despite the high rate of contamination of some samples, generally, most samples had B. cereus counts of less than 4 log CFU/g; hence, they were of acceptable microbiological quality. Bacillus diarrheal enterotoxin was detected from 52 isolates from individual portions of meals using the B. cereus enterotoxin reversed passive latex agglutination kit. Results of the assay revealed that 59.6% of the B. cereus isolates were enterotoxigenic. Most of the enterotoxigenic isolates were obtained from vegetable samples.

Nkwa, D.O., J.E. Taylor, B.A. Siame. 2005September. Fungi, aflatoxins, fumonisin B1 and zearalenone contaminating sorghum-based traditional malt, wort and beer in Botswana. Mycopathologia 160, (no. 2): 177-186.