Pelson Hoveka, also known as ‘Pelle’ in farming circles, has been around the block a few times despite his age. His love for farming has seen him taking his trade to different places across Namibia over the years.
But it is at Okatuuo in the Epukiro constituency of the Omaheke region where Hoveka’s soul finds peace, as it is from here where he practises his farming.
Okatuuo is a communal village with one of the highest concentrations of residents in the constituency. But home is where the heart is for Hoveka, who has found ways to make farming work in the communal area.
He specialises in the lesser known Veldmaster sheep, made popular locally by prominent livestock farmer Piet Coetzee. Coetzee brought the Veldmaster to Namibia in the late 2000s and has been one of its greatest proponents.
“Piet Coetzee made some of us fall in love with the Veldmaster. It was a sheep that caught my eye at first sight and I never looked back ever since,” Hoveka said.
The highly-revered farmer and businessman, Coetzee, died in 2020, leaving a huge gap in farming circles. The Veldmaster comes from a cross between the Damara and any other breed such as the Van Rooy, Dorper or Persian. The breed is, however, common for crossing Damara and Van Rooy breeds.
Hoveka started his journey into sheep farming in 2019, when he bought his first eight ewes. To achieve this, he had to sell a heifer and used the money on the sheep.
The sheep were of mixed breed, with many being of the Damara and Dorper and Van Rooy breeds. Soon, he introduced a quality Veldmaster ram on the ewes which he bought from prolific breeder Uno Kavari.
Over time, he managed to round his products off and now has fully registered Veldmaster sheep in his kraal.
He said he was attracted to the Veldmaster because it has more meat than fat on it as opposed to many other breeds. Also, the Veldmaster grows fast and has great adaptability to any environment it is placed in.
“The Veldmaster can go far to get food and can tolerate hunger better than some other breeds. Its relatively lean body helps carry it far when foraging for food without losing a lot of body weight daily,” Hoveka said.
Farming in the communal area has not been without its usual challenges for Hoveka, who has to constantly battle limited grazing, poisonous plants and water scarcity. But it is the high level of stock theft in the area that keeps him awake at night, Hoveka told AgriToday.
“There are career criminals in the area that would not hesitate to sweep your entire kraal and sell it off for their benefit. You have to constantly be behind your animals and never sacrifice that. If you do, you will lose it all,” he noted.
Another challenge for the young farmer is overstocking in the area, which has depleted grazing and turned a large part of the area into a desert. What makes it worse, he said, is that such a scenario is hard to prevent.
“The obvious solution would be to encourage people to keep a limited number of livestock per household, but that is not practical. No one will listen to you. Why should they, after all? I mean, you are increasing your livestock numbers yearly but you want others to cut back? It won’t work,” said Hoveka.
The self-motivated farmer said people are still warming up to the Veldmaster as a relatively new breed, which makes marketing feel like a huge mountain to climb. But those that have understood the qualities of the breed have been supporting farmers like Hoveka and have not looked back.
Hoveka mostly farms to breed and sell quality rams, although he would also sell off those rams that he had to castrate for failing to meet the standard for meat. It is a struggle putting all his effort into marketing the Veldmaster and also saving some money for his upkeep, but he is not relenting.
“Every new thing starts with high costs. If you are not prepared to take the costs, then you are not prepared to run a business. Surely, in the end, the results start trickling in and your investments bear fruit. You just have to keep going,” he encouraged.