Agriculture

A group of concerned aspiring farmers in the Otjinene constituency of the Omaheke region on Thursday took to the streets to air their grievances against the Maharero Traditional Authority (MTA).

Small livestock farmer Elizabeth Eigowas (60) was on the verge of giving up farming after her livestock died due to drought, but a donation of 21 goats by the Environment Investment Fund of Namibia (EIF) and partners recently, made her change her mind.

The Ministry of Agriculture is offering training on controlling the spread of contagious bovine pleuropneumonia (CBPP) to farmers in northern Namibia for the next two weeks.

Now, more than ever, the events and effects of climate change are evident in Namibia. Since the previous droughts of the 2013 and 2019 seasons, rainfall has been erratic, and associated events such as disease and pest outbreaks, recurrent drought and floods are common in Namibia.

Communal farmers in the northern parts of the country have for the past weeks been hard at work ploughing their crop fields.

The country’s largest meat processing and marketing entity, Meatco, has announced its readiness to buy more cattle from farmers in the Northern Communal Area (NCA), but has maintained that farmers should first meet the set requirements and standards.

MANY rangeland plants contain chemicals that are poisonous to livestock when eaten. Poisonous plants vary in their toxicity and the symptoms displayed by affected
animals. 

NOTING that it is a new year with so much hope and prospects for us farmers, what is most concerning to many of us is the lack of sufficient rain and concerns about whether we will get any more rain. 

Before I get on with the first installment of Farmer’s Kraal for 2024, let me take this opportunity to wholeheartedly wish all our esteemed readers a prosperous and blessed new year; one which I hope will be filled with abundant rain and greenery. 

Meatco, the country’s largest meat processing and marketing entity, has set plans in motion to revive and turn its Okahandja factory into a fully-fledged value-addition hub, intending to increase efficiencies and produce more value-added products and ready-to-eat goods.