Crop losses of 50% due to climate change
Studies indicate that dry-land crop production in Namibia can decline with 50% due to climate change, while the frequency of droughts will pose greater challenges for farmers and rural communities.
Speaking at the commemoration of World Day to Combat Desertification on Friday, the UN resident coordinator in Namibia, Anita Kiki Gbeho, said the world is dramatically affected by climate change.
According to her last year alone 1.5 billion people were affected globally by land degradation and desertification and more extreme events are expected.
“Therefore a longer-term approach to build the resilience of the most vulnerable is needed,” said Gbeho.
According to her, desertification and drought are of particular concern on the African continent.
In 2016, southern Africa faced one of the worst droughts in over 35 years, induced by El Nino. Currently, in southern Africa alone, nearly 29 million people are food insecure.
“Namibia is one of the driest countries in southern Africa and has experienced four consecutive years of below-normal rainfall, with the 2015/16 season described as one of the worst seasons in decades,” she said. More than 700 000 people in Namibia were estimated to be food insecure during the last season.
According to Gbeho, critical water shortages have impacted harvests and the livestock industry.
This has knock-on effects on the entire agricultural sector, which contributes over 10% of the GDP.
“Continued episodes of drought threaten to unravel the gains made in poverty alleviation and therefore drought is an issue that needs a collective response.”
She said Namibia has demonstrated leadership when it comes to preparedness and response, but moving forward, the focus should be on promoting drought-resistant cereals, advancing green economy strategies that ensure low-carbon emissions and developing early warning, monitoring and response systems.
Meanwhile the deputy agriculture minister Anna Shiweda said a 2011 study rated Namibia as the seventh most at-risk country in the world in terms of agricultural production losses due to climate change.
“This will certainly limit our efforts toward achieving national food security.”
According to her scientific studies currently indicate that dry-land crop production under in Namibia may be reduced by up to 50% due to climate change. Shiweda said a shift towards climate-smart agricultural and livestock management methods will help to increase the resilience of farmers and rural communities so that they are more prepared to face the combined threats of desertification and drought.
The recently launched Fifth National Development Plan (NDP5) contains dedicated strategies and programmes to advance the use of conservation agriculture, bush thinning, sustainable rangeland management and the achievement of land degradation neutrality.
NDP5 also contains ambitious targets to take Namibia towards a drought and desertification resilient agriculture sector.
These include an increase in food production by 30% by 2022, the thinning of 82 200 hectares of bush encroached land annually over the NDP5 period as well as the adoption of conservation agriculture methods by 50% of farmers by the end of NDP5.
ELLANIE SMIT
Speaking at the commemoration of World Day to Combat Desertification on Friday, the UN resident coordinator in Namibia, Anita Kiki Gbeho, said the world is dramatically affected by climate change.
According to her last year alone 1.5 billion people were affected globally by land degradation and desertification and more extreme events are expected.
“Therefore a longer-term approach to build the resilience of the most vulnerable is needed,” said Gbeho.
According to her, desertification and drought are of particular concern on the African continent.
In 2016, southern Africa faced one of the worst droughts in over 35 years, induced by El Nino. Currently, in southern Africa alone, nearly 29 million people are food insecure.
“Namibia is one of the driest countries in southern Africa and has experienced four consecutive years of below-normal rainfall, with the 2015/16 season described as one of the worst seasons in decades,” she said. More than 700 000 people in Namibia were estimated to be food insecure during the last season.
According to Gbeho, critical water shortages have impacted harvests and the livestock industry.
This has knock-on effects on the entire agricultural sector, which contributes over 10% of the GDP.
“Continued episodes of drought threaten to unravel the gains made in poverty alleviation and therefore drought is an issue that needs a collective response.”
She said Namibia has demonstrated leadership when it comes to preparedness and response, but moving forward, the focus should be on promoting drought-resistant cereals, advancing green economy strategies that ensure low-carbon emissions and developing early warning, monitoring and response systems.
Meanwhile the deputy agriculture minister Anna Shiweda said a 2011 study rated Namibia as the seventh most at-risk country in the world in terms of agricultural production losses due to climate change.
“This will certainly limit our efforts toward achieving national food security.”
According to her scientific studies currently indicate that dry-land crop production under in Namibia may be reduced by up to 50% due to climate change. Shiweda said a shift towards climate-smart agricultural and livestock management methods will help to increase the resilience of farmers and rural communities so that they are more prepared to face the combined threats of desertification and drought.
The recently launched Fifth National Development Plan (NDP5) contains dedicated strategies and programmes to advance the use of conservation agriculture, bush thinning, sustainable rangeland management and the achievement of land degradation neutrality.
NDP5 also contains ambitious targets to take Namibia towards a drought and desertification resilient agriculture sector.
These include an increase in food production by 30% by 2022, the thinning of 82 200 hectares of bush encroached land annually over the NDP5 period as well as the adoption of conservation agriculture methods by 50% of farmers by the end of NDP5.
ELLANIE SMIT
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