Botswana: fencing out the equity issue. Cattleposts and cattle ranching in the Kalahari Desert

This paper examines the advantages of the traditional cattlepost system against the recent drive towards the fencing of Botswanaʹs rangelands and the establishment of privatised, commercial beef ranches. Consideration of operational and environmental factors emphasise the benefits of the cattlepost system, while socio-economic and political factors explain why the current drive towards fenced ranches will continue for the foreseeable future. It is concluded that while the degradation issue on Botswanaʹs rangelands has been overstated, alleged concern for the conservation of the grazing resource is explicitly driving Botswanaʹs current New Agricultural Policy. By accentuating the existing marked socio-economic inequalities within the livestock sector, such misplaced policies will fuel much graver environmental problems, as the underlying equity issue remains unaddressed