Savings for a rainy day
Until farmers do not have exclusive control over their grazing, they cannot adequately prepare for drought years, says an expert.
Although large parts of the country have recently received some rainfall there are still many parts in Namibia, especially in communal areas, where it is very dry.
According to Dr Axel Rothague, founder of Agriconsult, due to the severity of the situation in some areas it is important for farmers to know how to be prepared for a drought situation.
He says how much a farmer can do to prepare for and survive a drought depends on how much management control he has over his land which is, of course, the main source of his production.
According to him, over 95% of Namibian livestock farmers have no exclusive management control over their grazing resources.
“These are communal farmers and farmers that were resettled under the resettlement scheme.”
Rothague says it does not make sense for communal farmers to save some of their grazing resources or to defer grazing in certain areas to protect the forage for a later day because other farmers can simply come along with their animals and graze the saved grass.
He adds there is currently no way such “grazing repositioning” can be prevented legally and thus, communal farmers cannot control access to their grazing resource.
As a result, farmers in these areas tend to deplete their grazing resource as quickly as possible before someone else depletes it for them.
“It is a completely rational, short-term farming decision - even if it leads to widespread suffering, environmental degradation and perpetuates rural poverty.”
According to Rothague, the decisions will be unpopular because they temporarily deprive some farming communities of what little grazing resource is left, to benefit them in the medium- and long-term, i.e. they inflict short-term pain for long-term gain.
He says a solution to this challenge would require a courageous government secured by a huge mandate from the electorate to do what it takes to develop the country, including pulling communal farming into the mainstream agricultural economy.
STAFF REPORTER
According to Dr Axel Rothague, founder of Agriconsult, due to the severity of the situation in some areas it is important for farmers to know how to be prepared for a drought situation.
He says how much a farmer can do to prepare for and survive a drought depends on how much management control he has over his land which is, of course, the main source of his production.
According to him, over 95% of Namibian livestock farmers have no exclusive management control over their grazing resources.
“These are communal farmers and farmers that were resettled under the resettlement scheme.”
Rothague says it does not make sense for communal farmers to save some of their grazing resources or to defer grazing in certain areas to protect the forage for a later day because other farmers can simply come along with their animals and graze the saved grass.
He adds there is currently no way such “grazing repositioning” can be prevented legally and thus, communal farmers cannot control access to their grazing resource.
As a result, farmers in these areas tend to deplete their grazing resource as quickly as possible before someone else depletes it for them.
“It is a completely rational, short-term farming decision - even if it leads to widespread suffering, environmental degradation and perpetuates rural poverty.”
According to Rothague, the decisions will be unpopular because they temporarily deprive some farming communities of what little grazing resource is left, to benefit them in the medium- and long-term, i.e. they inflict short-term pain for long-term gain.
He says a solution to this challenge would require a courageous government secured by a huge mandate from the electorate to do what it takes to develop the country, including pulling communal farming into the mainstream agricultural economy.
STAFF REPORTER
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