Preliminary assessment of the impact of COVID-19 on crop production in the Central District of Botswana

The COVID-19 pandemic has had an impact on crop production in Africa. However, literature reports mainly the adverse effects brought about by the pandemic. Little is known about the positive impact that the pandemic may have had on the arable crop subsistence farmers in Botswana. In this study, we conduced a scheduled interview survey to assess the impact of the COVID-19 mitigation strategies on arable crop production in the Central District of Botswana. Twenty-nine per cent of those interviewed reported that the COVID-19 pandemic did not affect their arable production. Of the majority reported to have been affected, 21% said they benefited from the COVID-19 lockdown. The results confirm that the pandemic may have not only brought adverse impacts but a benefit to some farming households. The preliminary findings show that the lockdown due to COVID-19 was a barrier and a facilitator to crop management activities in Central District in Botswana. It facilitated increasing the availability of household labour and time for farmers to allocate to crop production, but it was a barrier in reducing the market's access for farmers to sell their produce. It contributed positively towards the availability of household labour resulting in improved management of farm activities such as weeding, scaring away the birds and harvesting. Keywords: Arable crop production, Botswana, COVID-19 pandemic, household labour, subsistence farmers