Farmers urged not to be fazed by drought

KAHENGENAMPA Inhabitants of the Kavango East and Kavango West regions have been urged to prepare for the next ploughing season, and not to sit idle and be discouraged by the drought currently being experienced throughout the country. Kavango East and Kavango West, listed as the regions with the highest poverty rates in the country, have been badly hit by the current drought, with over 170 000 residents said to be affected. The Emergency Food Security Assessment in Communal and Resettlement Areas in Namibia, which was conducted during May this year by the Office of the Prime Minister (OPM), indicates that an estimated 330 927 Namibian citizens do not have any food security, while 447 577 are only moderately food secure. The Kahenge Constituency Councillor in Kavango West, Joseph Sikongo, said yesterday that despondency about the drought should not deter subsistence farmers or potential subsistence farmers from farming. “I have observed, with great concern, that some farmers seem to have given up on farming due to the drought. They think it might not rain again, but they should start clearing their fields,” the Kahenge councillor urged. He said this will help in that when the first rains come during the next rainy season, they can start ploughing. Sikongo said the fact that wild trees locally known as 'Munkudi' and 'Manganga' are ripening in the bush is a traditional indication that abundant rain might be received in the next rainy season. Munkudi is an indigenous tree whose roots are traditionally used in the fermentation of milk, while the Manganga tree contains a white sap that carries water and dissolved minerals from the tree's roots to the stem and leaves.