‘ALDEP re-designated as ISPAAD’: an appraisal of continued stagnation of crop production in post-independence Botswana

Abstract

This paper studies two agrarian schemes in Botswana from Independence in 1966 to the present, namely the Arable Lands Development Programme (ALDEP) which was introduced in 1979 and Integrated Support Programme for Arable Agricultural Development (ISPAAD), which started in 2008. It intends finding out why the programmes were initiated, the target groups of farmers, the packages involved and some of the bottlenecks that were experienced during the implementation of the programmes. The study adopted a comparative approach of the two programmes, and argues that shortage of draught power and inadequate extension services were the major obstacles to their implementation. It concludes that these programmes were characterised by a top-down approach and they duplicated each other. A key recommendation would be that policy formulation in agriculture should begin with thorough consultation with the various stakeholders, especially at local level before implementation.