RUNDU: The Ministry of Agriculture, Water and Land Reform has recommended that government declare a drought emergency at national level.
The ministry made this recommendation in its crop prospects, food security and drought situation report after it carried out the crops and household food security monitoring assessment in the seven major northern communal crop producing regions from 12 February to 11 March 2024.
The main purpose of the assessment was to assess crop conditions and provide early warning reports on the expected crop harvests, geographic locations of agronomic anomalies, the effects of floods and or droughts and other significant events.
The ministry, through its Executive Director, Ndiyakupi Nghituwamata, said they found that the 2023/24 rainfall season started earlier compared to the previous season, with light to moderate showers recorded in October.
‘However, regions such as the Zambezi, Kavango East and West saw delayed rainfall, which affected the commencement of ploughing activities. In addition, severe dry spells with high temperatures also negatively affected crop development that further led to crops wilting,’ she said.
Nghituwamata said the dry spell has also negatively affected vegetation and water availability for livestock, with deteriorating conditions expected to worsen.
She further explained that preliminary crop estimates indicate a drastic reduction in the forecasted harvest, with all crops producing
regions in the communal areas expected below last season’s harvest.
The aggregated national cereal production (maize, millet, sorghum and wheat) is estimated at 72,150 Metric Tons (MT), which is 53 per cent lower than the last season’s harvest of 153,012 MT.
In addition, the commercial area is projected to record a harvest of 35,200 MT, indicating 68 per cent less than last season’s production of 111,000 MT, only contributing 49 per cent to the national cereal production.
The ED said the decline is primarily due to the devastating drought experienced in rain-fed areas, and the substantial reduction in numbers of farmers who have planted maize and wheat in the commercial area this season.
Household food security has generally weakened in many parts of the country, following a reduced agricultural production recorded in the 2022/2023 season.
‘Many households in the major communal crop-producing regions are indicated to have depleted their previous season’s food stock and the majority are currently dependent on the market and drought relief food,’ she stated.
Nghituwamata indicated that many parts of the country are in distress grazing, with fair to poor livestock body conditions, especially in the southern, western and eastern parts of the country.
The situation, she highlighted, is expected to worsen should the country continue to receive poor rainfall for the remainder of the season.
Source: The Namibia Press Agency