OSHAKATI – It’s back to the drawing board for communal farmers in light of the potentially devastating drought knocking on the doors of each and every household in the North-Central areas of Namibia.
Proposing a new and enlightened way of thinking, national coordinator of the Namibia National Farmers Union (NNFU) in Oshakati, Robert Tobias, says there is one small window standing open for communal farmers in what could turn out to be the toughest year in decades. “We have to start planning for these reoccurring situations in our own backyard gardens where we as small scale crop producers are capably of feeding at least our own hungry mouths. Traditionally, crop fields and gardens are the sole property of the owner, unlike livestock grazing which is shared by all and sundry. “One way of working our way out of tight spots like we are experiencing now is to start growing fodder on parts them and expand the fields. These pastures should be grazed until March and then be closed to grow them and make hay that can be stored for dry times like now. The grass and the grain part of these fields should be rotated regularly as grass pastures improve soil fertility and enhance subsequent grain yields,” he advises as he stresses the importance of proper management skills that needed to be taught to the NNFU’s some 3 000 members in the area.
Tobias is convinced managerial control is of vital importance in both livestock and crop farming amongst communal farmers. He is also an advocate of expert technical agricultural advice and believes the government can do much in these areas to assist and educate communal farmers. “What we are faced with now is the fact that it does not make sense for a communal farmer to save his/her grazing for a latter day like now in a drought because some 95 percent of all communal farmers do not have exclusive management control over their grazing resources. There is no point in trying to save some forage for dry spells as another farmer also has access to that forage and can deplete it in no time,” he notes.
Tobias says this tradition leads to the absence of a grazing buffer in a drought like the one now wreaking havoc in all regions and the only way out is to adjust current policies so that this behaviour can be regulated but it could cause a huge roar and will take a big effort for the government to endorse it with the mandate from the electorate.
“Communal farming is never easy. It is rather complicated, but the NNFU’s advice to communal farmers is to rather sell some of their livestock now than later while they still have good body weight and can fetch attractive prices,” he advises.
Tobias says it is important to convert livestock wealth into monetary wealth and save the money rather than allowing your animals to suffer or fade away.He says only improved production security will reduce the vulnerability of communal farmers to such adverse conditions as are currently being experienced. “We must start thinking out of the box and begin the process in our own backyards where we can learn to at least secure food safety for our own households.”
“I am very concerned about the situation and it is a given that it is only going to get worse. The only regions we can expect some form of fair crop yields is the Oshana and Omusati– the others are in a poor state both for livestock and crop farmers. Thinking out of the box has become very important and we can learn a lot about water harvesting from countries like Egypt and Israel. Government has to get more involved in long-term projects that will ensure water harvesting, decent water installations and proper rangeland management and the conservation agricultural method which has proved itself in a short period of time. We must think and act now to ensure a future for those that we leave behind,” he says.