Omusati suffers climate change woes
Poverty in Omusati is exacerbated by the effects of climate change, which include high temperatures, droughts and floods.
Climate change is eroding the efforts ploughed into Omusati's agricultural sector over the years.
This is according to Omusati governor Erignus Endjala, who was speaking at a two-day regional conference on water, food security and climate change adaption.
Endjala said the region is the second most populous region in northern Namibia with a population of 243 166 people, while it also has 332 584 cattle and 295 780 goats.
Omusati also boasts the largest green scheme project in the country.
In addition, it has one of the most vibrant small-scale horticulture producers based around Olushandja dam and along the Calueque – Oshakati canal. The Olushandja Horticultural Producer Association has 255 hectares under production with 70 farmers, six of which are large-scale, five medium-scale, and 59 small-scale producers. “They have marketed 619 metric tonnes formally during the 2016/17 season and a lot more goes through the informal market,” said Endjala.
Butternuts, pumpkins, watermelon, cabbage, tomatoes, beetroots, green peppers, sweet potatoes and green maize are produced under irrigation. The majority of farmers practice dry land crop production. According to Endjala it is at Etunda that the first commercial production of asparagus is happening in Namibia, which will culminate in the establishment of agro-processing facilities and exports.
He, however, said the livelihoods of many households in the region and in the northern communal areas are faced with a multitude of challenges, which include recurrent droughts, frequent floods, limited grazing, limited access to fresh produce markets, limited value-addition, high unemployment and high incidents of poverty. Endjala said these challenges are exacerbated by the effects of climate change that include high temperatures, droughts and floods. He said these challenges are eating away at the gains and efforts government has ploughed into the agriculture sector over the years.
According to the governor most households are therefore food insecure and suffer huge livestock losses during droughts, and this affects the establishment of agriculture-based industries that are being advocated for, as the cornerstone of farmers' livelihoods are not viable.
“This unique conference has been necessitated by recurrent challenges that have become endemic and are becoming worse every year. We need to make sure that we find ways to secure water for agriculture purposes.”
Endjala said agricultural productivity needs to be improved to ensure food security. “We also need to ensure secure markets for our producers, we need to make sure that our livestock have enough feed throughout the year, we need to make sure that we enhance the availability of our products throughout the year through value-addition and agro-processing and above all we need to make sure that we have in place the adaptive measures that will ensure the effects of climate change are minimal, as we cannot stop climate change from happening, we have to adapt.”
The conference was hosted by the Omusati Regional Council, in collaboration with the Adaptation at Scale in Semi-Arid Regions (ASSAR) project.
ASSAR is a five-year research project (2014-2018), funded by the Canadian International Development Research and the UK Department for International Development. It is aimed at deepening the understanding of climate vulnerability and adaptation in semi-arid regions, to inform an influence adaptation practice and policy.
ELLANIE SMIT
This is according to Omusati governor Erignus Endjala, who was speaking at a two-day regional conference on water, food security and climate change adaption.
Endjala said the region is the second most populous region in northern Namibia with a population of 243 166 people, while it also has 332 584 cattle and 295 780 goats.
Omusati also boasts the largest green scheme project in the country.
In addition, it has one of the most vibrant small-scale horticulture producers based around Olushandja dam and along the Calueque – Oshakati canal. The Olushandja Horticultural Producer Association has 255 hectares under production with 70 farmers, six of which are large-scale, five medium-scale, and 59 small-scale producers. “They have marketed 619 metric tonnes formally during the 2016/17 season and a lot more goes through the informal market,” said Endjala.
Butternuts, pumpkins, watermelon, cabbage, tomatoes, beetroots, green peppers, sweet potatoes and green maize are produced under irrigation. The majority of farmers practice dry land crop production. According to Endjala it is at Etunda that the first commercial production of asparagus is happening in Namibia, which will culminate in the establishment of agro-processing facilities and exports.
He, however, said the livelihoods of many households in the region and in the northern communal areas are faced with a multitude of challenges, which include recurrent droughts, frequent floods, limited grazing, limited access to fresh produce markets, limited value-addition, high unemployment and high incidents of poverty. Endjala said these challenges are exacerbated by the effects of climate change that include high temperatures, droughts and floods. He said these challenges are eating away at the gains and efforts government has ploughed into the agriculture sector over the years.
According to the governor most households are therefore food insecure and suffer huge livestock losses during droughts, and this affects the establishment of agriculture-based industries that are being advocated for, as the cornerstone of farmers' livelihoods are not viable.
“This unique conference has been necessitated by recurrent challenges that have become endemic and are becoming worse every year. We need to make sure that we find ways to secure water for agriculture purposes.”
Endjala said agricultural productivity needs to be improved to ensure food security. “We also need to ensure secure markets for our producers, we need to make sure that our livestock have enough feed throughout the year, we need to make sure that we enhance the availability of our products throughout the year through value-addition and agro-processing and above all we need to make sure that we have in place the adaptive measures that will ensure the effects of climate change are minimal, as we cannot stop climate change from happening, we have to adapt.”
The conference was hosted by the Omusati Regional Council, in collaboration with the Adaptation at Scale in Semi-Arid Regions (ASSAR) project.
ASSAR is a five-year research project (2014-2018), funded by the Canadian International Development Research and the UK Department for International Development. It is aimed at deepening the understanding of climate vulnerability and adaptation in semi-arid regions, to inform an influence adaptation practice and policy.
ELLANIE SMIT
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