Farmers fight for red line
Northern communal farmers say adequate grazing, which is currently being found in Angola, is their main need, and not the export of beef to international markets.
Stakeholders in the northwest farming areas say they will not support the erection of a border fence between Namibia and Angola for the removal of the infamous Veterinary Cordon Fence (VCF), known as the red line.
Northern communal farmers say their main need is not to export beef to international markets, but is rather the issue of grazing opportunities within the Northern Communal Areas (NCA).
They say once the Angolan border is closed, this will leave them without grazing opportunities, while all the farms south of the red line are fenced off, which will make it difficult for them.
Over 30 000 head of cattle belonging to Namibians are said to be grazing in Angola and it is also believed that about 2 800 Namibians either own homesteads or farm in communal areas in the neighbouring country, while others cross the border with their livestock every morning for grazing and return to Namibia in the evenings.
This practice would have to stop of the red line is moved to the Angolan border.
More than half of the country's 3.8 million cattle are in the NCA.
The meat from these animals is not exported to the European Union (EU) because the NCAs are considered high-risk and prone to animal diseases, especially lung sickness and foot-and-mouth (FMD).
It was reported a recent study completed by the World Organisation for Animal Health found that erecting a fence of about 240km between Namibia and Angola, and doing away with the red line, would be the most viable option for the future of Namibia's livestock industry.
Namibia National Farmers Union (NNFU) president Jackson Emvula said the majority of farmers in the NCAs depend on Angola for grazing.
This was because the NCAs cannot feed all the cattle owned by farmers.
“The NCAs are regarded as high-risk and prone to animal diseases because of our free movement with Angola and closing the border will not be a solution. What needs to be done first is to enforce vaccination campaigns in Angola, where Namibian farmers are grazing.
“There is not enough grazing in Namibia and that is why people are seeking grazing in Angola. As the NNFU we are not really advocating for an international market for NCA beef, but we are advocating for the Growth at Home strategy,” Emvula said.
He said local farmers need to be supported by the local business community, instead of crying for an international market.
“As a leader of the farmers' organisation I am not crying for an outside market, but I am crying for the internal market. All the businesses operating within the NCAs must be open to meat products produced within the NCAs. For now, they bring us meat from the south of the red line and disgrace our own products. Once our meat products gain access to local markets, we have created a market for our products instead of crying for the international market,” he said.
Senior Oukwanyama Traditional Authority councillor, Nghidinihamba Urias Ndilula, said what NCA farmers' need the most is grazing areas and not meat exports.
He said removing the red line will not benefit them. Ndilula said at the moment, farmers along the border - from Ruacana up to Kavango - have free access to grazing in Angola and they cannot afford to lose such a gesture.
“Even if the red line is removed it will not benefit us. In the NCAs we need grazing and all the farms beyond the red line are fenced off. Who is going to allow you to graze in their farms, while they are already fenced off? It is better we have an open border, than removing the red line,” Ndilula said.
He said the removal of the red line will only be best if the government is considering resizing commercial farms to make room for the NCA farmers. He said there are many commercial farmers who do not fully utilised their farms and if they can share with others from the NCA, it will be a good, and this could help when closing the Angolan border.
“The government can identify all the unused commercial farms and allocate NCA farmers to graze inside them, and then we are talking,” he said.
The chairperson of the Mangetti Farmers' Association (MFA), Ismael Shailemo, said with the current happenings in Ondonga, grazing space at the Mangetti area has also become a challenge, as people have started grabbing land and setting up homesteads, while the area is meant for small-scale farming.
ILENI NANDJATO
Northern communal farmers say their main need is not to export beef to international markets, but is rather the issue of grazing opportunities within the Northern Communal Areas (NCA).
They say once the Angolan border is closed, this will leave them without grazing opportunities, while all the farms south of the red line are fenced off, which will make it difficult for them.
Over 30 000 head of cattle belonging to Namibians are said to be grazing in Angola and it is also believed that about 2 800 Namibians either own homesteads or farm in communal areas in the neighbouring country, while others cross the border with their livestock every morning for grazing and return to Namibia in the evenings.
This practice would have to stop of the red line is moved to the Angolan border.
More than half of the country's 3.8 million cattle are in the NCA.
The meat from these animals is not exported to the European Union (EU) because the NCAs are considered high-risk and prone to animal diseases, especially lung sickness and foot-and-mouth (FMD).
It was reported a recent study completed by the World Organisation for Animal Health found that erecting a fence of about 240km between Namibia and Angola, and doing away with the red line, would be the most viable option for the future of Namibia's livestock industry.
Namibia National Farmers Union (NNFU) president Jackson Emvula said the majority of farmers in the NCAs depend on Angola for grazing.
This was because the NCAs cannot feed all the cattle owned by farmers.
“The NCAs are regarded as high-risk and prone to animal diseases because of our free movement with Angola and closing the border will not be a solution. What needs to be done first is to enforce vaccination campaigns in Angola, where Namibian farmers are grazing.
“There is not enough grazing in Namibia and that is why people are seeking grazing in Angola. As the NNFU we are not really advocating for an international market for NCA beef, but we are advocating for the Growth at Home strategy,” Emvula said.
He said local farmers need to be supported by the local business community, instead of crying for an international market.
“As a leader of the farmers' organisation I am not crying for an outside market, but I am crying for the internal market. All the businesses operating within the NCAs must be open to meat products produced within the NCAs. For now, they bring us meat from the south of the red line and disgrace our own products. Once our meat products gain access to local markets, we have created a market for our products instead of crying for the international market,” he said.
Senior Oukwanyama Traditional Authority councillor, Nghidinihamba Urias Ndilula, said what NCA farmers' need the most is grazing areas and not meat exports.
He said removing the red line will not benefit them. Ndilula said at the moment, farmers along the border - from Ruacana up to Kavango - have free access to grazing in Angola and they cannot afford to lose such a gesture.
“Even if the red line is removed it will not benefit us. In the NCAs we need grazing and all the farms beyond the red line are fenced off. Who is going to allow you to graze in their farms, while they are already fenced off? It is better we have an open border, than removing the red line,” Ndilula said.
He said the removal of the red line will only be best if the government is considering resizing commercial farms to make room for the NCA farmers. He said there are many commercial farmers who do not fully utilised their farms and if they can share with others from the NCA, it will be a good, and this could help when closing the Angolan border.
“The government can identify all the unused commercial farms and allocate NCA farmers to graze inside them, and then we are talking,” he said.
The chairperson of the Mangetti Farmers' Association (MFA), Ismael Shailemo, said with the current happenings in Ondonga, grazing space at the Mangetti area has also become a challenge, as people have started grabbing land and setting up homesteads, while the area is meant for small-scale farming.
ILENI NANDJATO
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