WINDHOEK – Although many parts of the country received good showers over the past few weeks, the late rains could not save crops particularly maize and mahangu in the two Kavango regions as well as the Zambezi Region.
Kavango East and West regional governors yesterday, both confirmed the poor crop production as most of the crops withered from the scorching sun.
Dr Samuel Mbambo, Kavango East Governor, said it is too late for crops to survive although the region received good rains over the past few weeks.
“The seeds that germinated when people ploughed were scorched by the sun and when the rain came it was too late. Crops don’t look good at all,” he said.
Mbambo said government has started to put plans and mechanisms in place on how best it could assist the affected communities, who mainly depend on mahangu and maize yields for their livelihoods until the next harvest.
However, he said grazing for animals looks promising, as the region is now greener.
Moreover, Zambezi Regional Governor, Lawrence Sampofu noted that there is no hope anymore with crop production in the region.
“We received good rains during November and December last year. But the rain stopped during Christmas and only came in March. All the crops withered and there is no hope for harvest this year. Farmers did their best to plough their fields but now there is nothing as crops have died,” Sampofu said.
With grazing, he maintained, the vegetation is good and the animals will not be affected by the drought.
He added that the region also did not experience any floods this year as the Zambezi River is not rising rapidly compared to past years.
Sirkka Ausiku, the Kavango West Governor, shared Mbambo’s sentiments.
“It might be too late for crops. After ploughing, there was a long dry spell and now that it rained, it’s too late.
Normally, this time of the year, people start eating field produce such as fresh beans and maize. But now people have not even eaten them,” she said.
Regarding livestock, she said there is some hope for grazing as its greener.
Namibia’s current national storage capacity stands at 18 900 metric tons – 28 percent off the targeted 67 000 metric tons – a situation that is worrisome taking into consideration the continuous dry spell experienced in many parts of the country.
The grain quantities purchased during the 2014 crop harvest season utilised 68 percent of the current storage capacity.
Operations Manager for the National Strategic Food Reserve, Wilhelmina Handunge, recently revealed that during the 2014 crop harvest season, 12 805 metric tons (12 381 metric tons of maize and 486.34 metric tons of mahangu) were procured and stored at different storage facilities in the country.
The Katima Mulilo silos are the biggest of all government silos in the country.
These silos, constructed in 2008/09, were managed by the agro-production unit under the Directorate of Extension and Engineering Services (DEES) – a unit of the Ministry of Agriculture Water and Forestry (MAWF) – up until Agro-Marketing and Trade Agency (AMTA) took over in 2013. The storage capacity of these silos is 7 400 metric tons and they currently have stock of a mere 5 055 metric tons.
Namibia also has other silos located in Tsandi, Okongo, Omuthiya, Rundu and Katima Mulilo.
Asked if there is a possibility Namibia would start importing food soon, Handunge said, “On the issue of import, the crop assessment team is still busy in the field assessing the situation. Only after the assessment report would one be able to tell whether to import or not and yet that has to be decided by the Directorate of Disaster Risk Management under the Office of the Prime Minister (DDRM-OPM).