farmer |
Earlier projections
had indicated a total harvest of 69,000 tonnes of white maize for
Namibia. Maize is a staple diet for many Namibians.
As prospects of
regular rains after Christmas 2017 fall flat, a subdued atmosphere now
grips the producers in the Maize Triangle area that stretches from
Grootfontein to Tsumeb and Otavi. The areas are known as Namibia's
breadbasket, as farms in the area produce nearly half of the country's
maize output.
For this season,
less than 800 tonnes of white maize are expected from the Omusati Region
and environs. The central and east areas are now expected to contribute
some 5,200 tonnes of white maize. Hopes are pinned on the Kavango
Region bringing in a much-needed 21,388 tonnes, while the Zambezi Region
is expected to contribute more than 4,500 tonnes. Hardap and environs
(irrigation) will harvest in excess of 5,700 tonnes.
There have been
earlier signs of recovery after consecutive droughts forced Namibia to
import some 180,000 tonnes of cereal. In October last year, the Namibian
Agronomic Board (NAB) predicted a bumper harvest of close to 69,000
tonnes for this season at the end of July 2018, but those figures are
now seriously doubted as the rains stayed away at the beginning of the
planting season since November. The producers' hopes of planting some
9,000 hectares are now dwindling as the planting season comes to an end.
"January 27 is
regarded as the last day of successful planting in the Maize Triangle,
provided we have sufficient soil moisture. This is absolutely not the
case and many producers just don't know which way to go," said a worried
chairperson of the Agronomic Producers Association (APA), Gernot
Eggert.
"If it rains from
today and we get consistent follow-up showers, they still stand a chance
to reap a decent harvest. If they plant now and the rains do not come,
it's all over for them. Another season of erratic and sporadic rainfall
like in the past few years will mean the end of the road for most
producers in the triangle," he said.
"At this stage,
less than one-third of producers received normal rainfall last season,
and the trend continues. That could mean a serious decline in planting
and producers will only be able to contribute a drop towards Namibia's
average annual white maize harvest of some 70,000 tonnes before the
drought of 2013 struck," he lamented.
Eggert says the
combined effects of the droughts since 2013 will prove just one too many
for maize producers in the Maize Triangle who are all struggling with
cash-flow problems. Input costs of producers on average amount to
N$4,500 per hectare, and because of the dismal crops of the past few
years, producers have already lost millions of dollars.
The same bleak
picture unfolded in the northern communal areas (NCAs) where mahangu and
maize crops dropped drastically to all-time lows and resulted in
government forking out some N$110 million in drought relief. Namibia had
to import close to 210,000 tonnes of cereal annually since 2013 and
almost 70,000 Namibians were left in urgent need of drought relief food
in 2016.
Namibia uses
150,000 tonnes of the global maize consumption of 840 million tonnes,
and relies on South African imports of about 160,000 tonnes annually to
supply its population of some 2.3 million.
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