ONAUSHE – The fear of being food insecure is looming among farmers in Oshana region, as part of the region is flooded and crops submerged by water while crops in the other part of the region are drying up due to insufficient rain.
It is a bitter blow for farmers at Onaushe village in Uuvudhiya constituency because this could be the second year in a row that they have not received sufficient rainfall.
Some farmers at Onaushe are still to see their crops germinate as they planted too late.
Those who planted early, their crops are in the process of drying up.
Acting headman of Onaushe Bilha Kambidhi said the village has not received a single drop of rain in February.
“We last received rain in January. Our crops are dying and we do not know how we will survive,” said Kambidhi.
In addition to the crops, Kambidhi said there is also no water in the oshanas for their livestock.
Those who have access to potable water are giving their livestock water from their taps.
“There is no water and the grazing is almost depleted, we are really praying for rain because we fear our livestock will also not survive,” said Kambidhi.
Peneyambeko Michael said she does not see anything good coming out of this harvest and added that the rain is taking too long.
“It is very sunny and the rain is taking forever. We do not know if we will eat this year,” said Michael.
Fenni Shikongo of the marginalised community said her crop field is just white as if no work was done on it.
Shikongo said since she planted, her crops never sprouted.
Like many from the marginalised community, they have no silos and live from handouts and doing odd jobs, but there isn’t much to do now because they usually depend of weeding crop fields.
“I had tilled my field and was hoping to get something to feed my children, but now all my plants are dead,” said Shikongo.
Chairperson of Oshana Regional Council and Ongwediva constituency councillor Andreas Uutoni said the situation in the region is worrisome.
In addition to the dying crops, some constituencies were severely hit by flood, leading to loss of crops, damaged roads and close to 300 people displaced.
Three people are reported to have drowned in the floodwater.
Uutoni said if the region does not receive rain, the situation could be far worse than the 2019 drought.
He said those with water are only those whose areas are flooded, the rest of the region is completely dry.
“We will continue to monitor the situation and liaise with the Office of the Prime Minister to look into how to provide food for the affected communities,” said Uutoni.
On a positive note, the flood in Oshana has subsided in many constituencies.
The region has not had any new relocations for over a week and the number of people at relocation sites has since decreased from 274 to 264.
The daily flood update produced by Oshana Regional Council reveals that some people are only at the relocation sites to avoid relocating them back to the tents should there be another wave or a heavy downpour in the coming weeks.
Meanwhile, five of the schools which were initially closed have reopened.
Only Peter Nanyemba Primary School and Kupila Combined School are still
closed.
Although the water levels have dropped, communities living in flood prone areas are called not to cross streams at night and assist the young children and pensioners when crossing to avoid drowning.
To remedy the situation, government in its first cabinet meeting announced that it has secured N$72 million to assist flood affected victims.
Government said the relief programme will cater for communities whose households have been swamped by floodwater for the next six months until they harvest.
* Nuusita Ashipala is an information officer at MICT in Oshana.