The only constant is change
From climate change to poverty, self-sustainability to food security and profit, famers in Namibia and the sub-region have ever-changing conditions.
Namibia is continuously threatened by the decline of our natural resources, which includes the decrease of levels of underground water reserves, decline of rangeland condition and less free movement for game. The Namibia Agricultural Union's (NAU)project to implement the rangeland policy last week held talks with interested parties in the commercial farming area of the country to give proposals about any incentives which will promote conservation of rangeland, water and game.
The interested parties from all over, including conservation bodies and Namibia University of Science and Technology (NUST), attended the workshop. Mecki Schneider, a farmer from Grootfontein as well as Johan Britz of the Cheetah Conservation Fund opened the workshop. Schneider focused on the fact that most rural towns in Namibia are dependent on underground water and conservation inputs of farmers have a direct influence on availability of underground water for these towns. Conservation of water and game, however, starts with the improvement of the rangeland condition of the land. Studies have proved that more rainwater is stored underground on farms where bush thinning was done in comparison with farms where no bush thinning was done and with a poor grazing condition. Britz spoke on interesting possibilities in the international markets for beef to pay a bonus for meat which is produced in an ecosystem-friendly manner. The challenges, however, are how Namibian producers can use these advantages and how international consumers can get the assurance that the meat which is bought at a bonus is produced in the right manner.
The project wants to collect the opinions of commercial farmers throughout the country and a short questionnaire will be sent out in due course with the support of the various involved organisations to get the opinions of producers.
All interested parties agreed that commercial conservancies, which are managed by the landowners themselves, will play an important role as instrument to facilitate incentives for conservation in future.
Further inputs into maximising farming yields were made at the Agri open-day hosted by the Dordabis Farmers' Union.
The event, held on 29 August in Windhoek, had two guest speakers, namely Johannes Möller, the president of the South African Agricultural Union and Ryno van der Merwe, the president of the NAU. Möller exchanged ideas about the challenges for commercial agriculture in southern Africa, while Van der Merwe spoke about the involvement of the NAU to ensure sustainable agriculture. Möller opened with the reality that commercial agriculture in southern Africa is part and parcel of the fourth industrial revolution where corporate involvement is now an integral part of the integration within agricultural value chains. His message in this regard was that individual commercial agriculture should maintain its competitive advantage at all costs to avoid being absorbed in the current corporative integration process over time. Worldwide and in southern Africa, he said, less fossil fuels are utilised in general, as well as in agricultural production. This, in turn, means that by-products of the petroleum industry, like fertiliser and plastic, will in future become scarcer. Hence, natural fibres like cotton and wool will make a comeback in daily life.
Commercial agriculture has an increasingly responsibility to conserve natural resources and to utilise it optimally to ensure sustainable production in future. Here Möller specifically referred to the Cape and surroundings in South Africa with its current drought - a reality that was not foreseen. “While agriculture world-wide is on average responsible for 62% of a country's water utilisation, South Africa was able to bring this figure down to 60%. This means that all countries in southern Africa should cooperate to conserve this resource.”
He also referred to one important social aspect for commercial agriculture in southern Africa - poverty. His message was when a person is hungry, but without money, that person cannot buy food. Thus, commercial agriculture has the responsibility to uplift people through community projects to ensure that they become self-sufficient.
There are three aspects that commercial agriculture should be aware of, he said. “The first is that climate change is a reality and commercial agriculture should constantly contribute towards mitigating its effects. Second is the movement of protectionism that was exacerbated with the election of Donald Trump as American president, which is bad news for agricultural commodities in southern Africa dependent on export markets. Finally, certain public opinions of political leaders in Africa are sometimes unconsidered and they do not realise the negative repercussions of this on commercial agriculture dependent on exports,” Möller explained.
Van der Merwe referred to the constant changes experienced in the current agricultural production environment while aiming for sustainable production. To give an example, he compared the 2016 and 2017 agricultural years; in 2016 the country was still undergoing a drought – in 2017 the majority of the country received average to above average rainfall; in 2016 the weaner price was approximately N$13/kg and in 2017 it increased to N$40/kg and more. “These are just a few examples to confirm the constant changes and the reality thereof in the agricultural production environment. Such conditions bring new challenges and changes to which producers need to react – the question arises, which of these can be controlled or not, or just be influenced? Hence, how would a commercial producer react to these new challenges and changes? There are only two approaches, namely to ignore, deny and offer resistance or to acknowledge the reality, take ownership and take action,” he urged.
STAFF REPORTER
The interested parties from all over, including conservation bodies and Namibia University of Science and Technology (NUST), attended the workshop. Mecki Schneider, a farmer from Grootfontein as well as Johan Britz of the Cheetah Conservation Fund opened the workshop. Schneider focused on the fact that most rural towns in Namibia are dependent on underground water and conservation inputs of farmers have a direct influence on availability of underground water for these towns. Conservation of water and game, however, starts with the improvement of the rangeland condition of the land. Studies have proved that more rainwater is stored underground on farms where bush thinning was done in comparison with farms where no bush thinning was done and with a poor grazing condition. Britz spoke on interesting possibilities in the international markets for beef to pay a bonus for meat which is produced in an ecosystem-friendly manner. The challenges, however, are how Namibian producers can use these advantages and how international consumers can get the assurance that the meat which is bought at a bonus is produced in the right manner.
The project wants to collect the opinions of commercial farmers throughout the country and a short questionnaire will be sent out in due course with the support of the various involved organisations to get the opinions of producers.
All interested parties agreed that commercial conservancies, which are managed by the landowners themselves, will play an important role as instrument to facilitate incentives for conservation in future.
Further inputs into maximising farming yields were made at the Agri open-day hosted by the Dordabis Farmers' Union.
The event, held on 29 August in Windhoek, had two guest speakers, namely Johannes Möller, the president of the South African Agricultural Union and Ryno van der Merwe, the president of the NAU. Möller exchanged ideas about the challenges for commercial agriculture in southern Africa, while Van der Merwe spoke about the involvement of the NAU to ensure sustainable agriculture. Möller opened with the reality that commercial agriculture in southern Africa is part and parcel of the fourth industrial revolution where corporate involvement is now an integral part of the integration within agricultural value chains. His message in this regard was that individual commercial agriculture should maintain its competitive advantage at all costs to avoid being absorbed in the current corporative integration process over time. Worldwide and in southern Africa, he said, less fossil fuels are utilised in general, as well as in agricultural production. This, in turn, means that by-products of the petroleum industry, like fertiliser and plastic, will in future become scarcer. Hence, natural fibres like cotton and wool will make a comeback in daily life.
Commercial agriculture has an increasingly responsibility to conserve natural resources and to utilise it optimally to ensure sustainable production in future. Here Möller specifically referred to the Cape and surroundings in South Africa with its current drought - a reality that was not foreseen. “While agriculture world-wide is on average responsible for 62% of a country's water utilisation, South Africa was able to bring this figure down to 60%. This means that all countries in southern Africa should cooperate to conserve this resource.”
He also referred to one important social aspect for commercial agriculture in southern Africa - poverty. His message was when a person is hungry, but without money, that person cannot buy food. Thus, commercial agriculture has the responsibility to uplift people through community projects to ensure that they become self-sufficient.
There are three aspects that commercial agriculture should be aware of, he said. “The first is that climate change is a reality and commercial agriculture should constantly contribute towards mitigating its effects. Second is the movement of protectionism that was exacerbated with the election of Donald Trump as American president, which is bad news for agricultural commodities in southern Africa dependent on export markets. Finally, certain public opinions of political leaders in Africa are sometimes unconsidered and they do not realise the negative repercussions of this on commercial agriculture dependent on exports,” Möller explained.
Van der Merwe referred to the constant changes experienced in the current agricultural production environment while aiming for sustainable production. To give an example, he compared the 2016 and 2017 agricultural years; in 2016 the country was still undergoing a drought – in 2017 the majority of the country received average to above average rainfall; in 2016 the weaner price was approximately N$13/kg and in 2017 it increased to N$40/kg and more. “These are just a few examples to confirm the constant changes and the reality thereof in the agricultural production environment. Such conditions bring new challenges and changes to which producers need to react – the question arises, which of these can be controlled or not, or just be influenced? Hence, how would a commercial producer react to these new challenges and changes? There are only two approaches, namely to ignore, deny and offer resistance or to acknowledge the reality, take ownership and take action,” he urged.
STAFF REPORTER
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