WINDHOEK – Namibian crop producers are set to reap their most dismal rain-fed white maize harvest ever in decades in June this year with an measly 2 000 tonnes of the country’s staple food expected from the Maize Triangle and the Summerdown/Hochfeld areas.
The expected total crops harvest from the bread basket of Namibia stands in stark contrast with the average of some 39 000 tonnes harvested in previous seasons, including the 2013 drought season. Speaking to Farmers Forum, Coordinator of the Agronomic Producers Association (APA), Antoinette Venter, says the final estimation is expected soon but it is a forgone conclusion that the Maize Triangle and eastern crop areas of the country will barely produce 2 000 tonnes of white maize this year. “We expect nothing more than 900 tonnes from the Maize Triangle this year, and maybe 185 tonnes from the Summerdown/ Hochfeld areas and the Zambezi will add another estimated 1 500 tonnes. That wil be the total contribution of these areas towards Namibia’s annual average total crop production of some 70 000 tonnes of maize, wheat and other crops.
The Chairperson of the Agronmic Producers Association, Gernot Eggert, says that the combined effects of the drought of 2013 and this year’s devastating dry spell has proved just one too much for maize producers in the bread basket of the country, situated between Grootfontein, Otavi and Tsumeb. A dismal total maize production of some 32 000 tonnes is now expected due to the patchy rainfall since November last year that left less than five percent of producers countrywide with normal rainfall. The bulk of this year’s production will now come from the wet-land producers in Hardap, Kavango and Zambezi. Final estimations have not been made by the Namibia Agronomic Board due to the fact that producers in al dry-land areas have no idea what to expect from their wilted fields.
After harvesting a total of 70 328 tonnes in the previous season, a shadow of gloom and doom has been cast over commercial and communal rain-fed crop farming areas across Namibia. The same message rings out from the Northern Communal Areas (NCAs) where mahangu and maize crops are expected to yield only droplets compared to last year.
As little as 35 percent of total crops planted is now expected countrywide at harvest time later this year. The Ministry of Agriculture, Water and Forestry (MAWF) was informed about the crisis as seriously depleted harvest in all rain-fed areas will have a devastating effect on food security. Great concern has been expressed in all regions, except the Hardap region where average to above average harvests of both maize and wheat under irrigation are expected.
Producers in the rain-fed areas started to use their damaged crops as fodder as they prepare for vast losses of income after they spent millions on seeds, preparation, and infrastructure in anticipation of a good rainy season. Ground nuts are also under pressure but the more drought resistant nature thereof means that producers expect a slightly better crop. The economic impact of poorer maize harvests, which is also expected in South Africa, is divergent and includes the possibility from more expensive fodder to a decrease in weaner prices as the feeding costs of feed lots increase. Cheaper oil and petrol prices, however, have the opposite effect and might counteract the impact of the poorer harvest in a certain measure. The APA is still aware of the pressure which will hit farmers who produce under dry land and emphasised the role of the government to support farmers.