Zebaldt Ngaruka
OHAMBO JATATE – General water scarcity, exacerbated by ongoing drought conditions, continues to be the most significant challenge facing community garden initiatives in the Epukiro constituency of the Omaheke region.
AgriTodayconducted a visit to various garden initiatives within the constituency, and observed that numerous projects are facing challenges in attaining optimal yields due to a lack of water as the majority of boreholes and water catchment areas have become depleted.
The well-known Otjimanangombe Women’s Garden, historically regarded as one of the most reliable community gardens in the region, has been significantly affected, and the prevailing drought conditions have exacerbated the situation.
The two-hectare garden was recently sponsored by communications giant MTC with a 10 000-litre water tank, pipes and fencing materials worth N$70 000, but it is yet to produce the expected yield.
Edla Kapeeua Mate, the patron of the Otjimanangombe Women’s Garden, expressed that despite their efforts to cultivate a diverse range of weather-resistant crops, the plants ultimately perished due to inadequate water supply necessary to sustain the entire garden.
“We are not harvesting that much, and this is a big concern. Water scarcity is a concern, and we owe it to our community to produce food for them as part of our mission. We aim to help ourselves as women from this garden, and feed the kindergarten and primary school in our settlement, but it has not been easy due to a lack of sufficient water,” she said.
She added that the MTC donation was a major boost for the project, but the water issue in the village is a major concern.
Ground squirrels
Mate said the garden is also encountering additional difficulties, including ground squirrels and birds consuming newly-planted seeds, which further hampers their operations.
However, she maintains optimism that the forthcoming rainy season will prove to be more favourable and aid in revitalising the garden.
She proposed that the installation of a separate borehole would provide a sustainable solution to their water issues.
“We are pleading to our government to assist us in that regard, as we are working towards achieving the self-sustainable goal. This is in line with the country’s Vision 2030 as well,” she stated.
Another garden facing similar challenges is the Ozombouvapa Women’s Garden, which is battling a severe water shortage, despite the government having drilled a borehole there two years ago.
Karikondua Kahere, who is part of the garden’s project committee, said it has been years since they harvested from the garden.
“This is not helping us, and water issues remain a problem. The rain is not sufficient to enable cultivation. We always lose when putting seeds in the soil, as there is no sufficient water to enable the crops to grow,” she said.
She is confident that a big water tank would enable them to make use of other means to transport water to that tank to feed the garden.
“The ideal solution could be water ,pipe connections from the water point, but the problem is that water is not sufficient for the entire community here. We are eager to produce, and we are hoping the rainy season will be favourable this time around,” she said.
More woes
AgriToday also caught up with Silba Kanuameva, who is the patron of the Otjombundiro Kindergarten, which once had a thriving garden project, but ground squirrels have hampered progress there as well.
She shared that at its peak, the garden would generate income for the school and nutritious food for the kids, but that is no longer the case.
We used to harvest tomatoes, spinach, carrots, onions and pepper – but nowadays, our efforts are all in vain.
It is so painful, as ground squirrels attacked our crops while we were on the verge of asking for assistance from our agriculture department in Epukiro,” she noted.
She added that water is not an issue with their project, as the village was recently assisted with a borehole by the government.
“We want to produce, despite the challenges. We need nets to cover our crops, as birds are also a problem. We need a proper irrigation system to water our garden,” she appealed.