Kavango West farmers face dire seed shortage

Farmers in the Kavango West Region are grappling with a critical shortage of seeds ahead of the upcoming planting season. This comes after successive years of drought that devastated crop yields, leaving many without the means to store seeds for future use.Johannes Hausiku, chairperson of the Kavango West Farmers’ Union, attributes the crisis to prolonged dry spells which have severely disrupted traditional farming practices.“Yeah, we know that for the past two to three years, we have experienced drought. Most farmers did not harvest anything that could be kept for seed. We used to keep our own seed, which we called mandora, but due to poor rain-fed conditions, that was not possible,” he explained.With no local seed production facility in Kavango West or East, many farmers now rely on imported seed from South Africa, Zimbabwe, Zambia or even informal vendors from Angola.Hausiku said fears about the quality and viability of imported seeds are a concern, particularly those purchased from street sellers.“There’s a challenge of germinating. You don’t know the background of that seed. Some of the yellow maize sold on the street doesn’t mature in time due to its long growing duration,” he noted.Plant seeds for tomorrowAlthough there are green schemes in the region, including Sikondo and Mashare, Hausiku said they are underutilised in terms of seed production. He proposed that government support be directed towards enabling these schemes to dedicate portions of land specifically for seed production.At the Sikondo green scheme, manager Maxwell Nghidimwa confirmed their efforts to alleviate the shortage. “We collaborate with Namibia Agricultural Mechanisation and Seed Improvement Project (NAMSIP) and the ministry of agriculture to produce seeds for mahangu, cowpeas and sorghum, which are packaged at Omahenene and distributed before the planting season,” he said.

Kavango West farmers face dire seed shortage

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Namibian Sun 2025-05-01

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Kavango West farmers face dire seed shortage

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Namibian Sun 2025-05-01

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