ONGWEDIVA – The governor of Oshana, Elia Irimari said the region has finally received approval to put up earth dams to harvest flood and rainwater to boost agricultural production.

“We have approval from the Ministry of Agriculture, Water and Land Reform in this regard and we are looking forward to seeing these plans actualised,” the governor said in his state of the region address recently.

The governor, who in the same address highlighted limited water infrastructure for agriculture, as a challenge, said access to water is vital for increasing food security.

Irimari, since his days as a councillor of Ondangwa Urban, has been advocating for communities to harvest water to boost agriculture.

During an interview with New Era, he said the need for community earth dams emanated from meetings with
the communities calling on the government to provide them with water especially for use during the drought seasons.

The governor said the earth dams will not only boost agriculture but will also serve as a source of water during the drought seasons.

He said the thousands of reported livestock that perished to drought in the recent years did not die because there was not enough grazing.

“The grazing was there, but the water was not sufficient,” said Irimari.

The envisaged earth dams will be put up at a central point, particularly in areas close to flood plains so that they receive sufficient water inflow.

Irimari is encouraging community members to make use of the earth dams once they are in place.

In addition to providing food for themselves, he said farmers can produce enough to sell to their communities and thereby create an income for themselves.

In terms of potable water, the governor said the region has potable water in many parts.

However, due to the increasing population, the water pressure in some areas is very low because the pipes used to disseminate water previously were too small. – nashipala@nepc.com.na