Hopes fade for a good harvest
With critical rains staying away during January and February, Kavango East farmers say their hopes have been dashed completely.
A subsistence farmer from Mayana village in the Kavango East Region says that with the lack of rainfall during January and February which saw his crops die due to the heat, good rainfall in March will not have a significant impact.
Johannes Nangombe (75), just like thousands of farmers across the country, is desperately waiting on good rains in order for his crops to grow to secure a good harvest at the end of this season.
Nangombe told Namibian Sun this situation reminds him of the 1992 and 1994 cultivation seasons which he says were similar. Very poor rain was experienced and little to nothing was harvested during those seasons.
He explained that farming mahangu is a process which requires good rains. Without rainfall there is no harvest. “As subsistence farmers, we look forward to the January and February rains. If these two months pass and there was a poor rain spell, farmers are left hopeless because we know the March rain will do nothing to the already dead crops,” Nangombe said.
Nangombe added that by this time, he and his family would normally be feasting on the fast-growing crops such as melons and maize.
“We would be eating the maize and melons but as you can see I am at home, waiting for the rain. We are entering the month of March and we have not even started weeding. This will really be a bad year for us farmers who rely solely on our harvests from the fields,” Nangombe said.
Nangombe said that he ploughed about three hectares of his four-hectare land, spending N$1 600 on the exercise.
Due to the prospects that it will not be a good harvest this year, he said that he hopes government will later in the year come forward with the drought relief programme.
“As a hard worker I really wanted to work my field and feed my family. I do not like waiting on the drought relief because you never know when it comes. When you work your field, you are in charge of the situation and you know what you are getting,” Nangombe said.
All along the Rundu-Divundu main road, many fields are dry and it is unlikely to see families weeding their fields this season.
KENYA KAMBOWE
Johannes Nangombe (75), just like thousands of farmers across the country, is desperately waiting on good rains in order for his crops to grow to secure a good harvest at the end of this season.
Nangombe told Namibian Sun this situation reminds him of the 1992 and 1994 cultivation seasons which he says were similar. Very poor rain was experienced and little to nothing was harvested during those seasons.
He explained that farming mahangu is a process which requires good rains. Without rainfall there is no harvest. “As subsistence farmers, we look forward to the January and February rains. If these two months pass and there was a poor rain spell, farmers are left hopeless because we know the March rain will do nothing to the already dead crops,” Nangombe said.
Nangombe added that by this time, he and his family would normally be feasting on the fast-growing crops such as melons and maize.
“We would be eating the maize and melons but as you can see I am at home, waiting for the rain. We are entering the month of March and we have not even started weeding. This will really be a bad year for us farmers who rely solely on our harvests from the fields,” Nangombe said.
Nangombe said that he ploughed about three hectares of his four-hectare land, spending N$1 600 on the exercise.
Due to the prospects that it will not be a good harvest this year, he said that he hopes government will later in the year come forward with the drought relief programme.
“As a hard worker I really wanted to work my field and feed my family. I do not like waiting on the drought relief because you never know when it comes. When you work your field, you are in charge of the situation and you know what you are getting,” Nangombe said.
All along the Rundu-Divundu main road, many fields are dry and it is unlikely to see families weeding their fields this season.
KENYA KAMBOWE
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