Farmers happy with late rains

FARMERS in the maize triangle should clap hands for the good showers that fell in the area over the weekend, weatherman Odilo Kgobetsi said yesterday.

Kgobetsi, who is the weather forecaster at the Windhoek weather bureau, told The Namibian that recently commercial maize farmers there indicated that their fields needed more rainfall. He said the weekend rains were unusually late, as Namibia is already entering the dry winter season.”Usually, we do not get much rain this time.But it is good that we are getting it now,” said Kgobetsi.The so-called maize triangle is the farming area between Grootfontein, Tsumeb and Otavi.Rainfall figures measured yesterday morning show that Tsumeb received 38 mm while Grootfontein measured 34.5 mm.Heavy rain also fell at the farm Okahua, about 60 km west of the Hosea Kutako International Airport, where 80 mm was measured.Kgobetsi said a farm near Omitara measured between 31 and 72 mm while another farm east of Witvlei reported between 37 and 60 mm.Ondangwa measured 6.3 mm while Okaukuejo received 11.8 mm.Kgobetsi said there was still moist air in circulation and more showers are expected in the central-north, central high ground, southern and eastern Namibia.He said the weekend rains were unusually late, as Namibia is already entering the dry winter season.”Usually, we do not get much rain this time.But it is good that we are getting it now,” said Kgobetsi.The so-called maize triangle is the farming area between Grootfontein, Tsumeb and Otavi.Rainfall figures measured yesterday morning show that Tsumeb received 38 mm while Grootfontein measured 34.5 mm.Heavy rain also fell at the farm Okahua, about 60 km west of the Hosea Kutako International Airport, where 80 mm was measured.Kgobetsi said a farm near Omitara measured between 31 and 72 mm while another farm east of Witvlei reported between 37 and 60 mm.Ondangwa measured 6.3 mm while Okaukuejo received 11.8 mm.Kgobetsi said there was still moist air in circulation and more showers are expected in the central-north, central high ground, southern and eastern Namibia.