Farmers’ unions optimistic after the rains

THE Namibia Agricultural Union (NAU) and the Namibian National Farmers’ Union (NNFU) are hopeful that farmers will get a bumper harvest this year because of the good rains that have fallen since the beginning of the year.

NNFU President Manfred Rukoro told The Namibian on Friday that although the rain came a bit late, the good showers that are falling countrywide at the moment have brought smiles to the faces of many communal farmers. “We are very, very happy.This looks like a promising year,” said Rukoro.He said towards the end of last year, many regions were on the verge of starvation, but the good rain that started at the beginning of this month raised hopes for a good harvest this year, especially if it could continue until April.The Executive Manager of the NAU, Isak Coetzee, shares the same views.He said the NAU was very glad about the good rains and expects good prospects for crop and livestock farming.He said although there were still some areas in south-eastern Namibia that had received little rain, it was still early in the season and more rain had been predicted to be on the way.The good rains have also raised the levels of the country’s main storage dams higher than they were at the same time last year.According to NamWater’s latest dam bulletin, the Von Bach Dam is 67,8 per cent full compared to 37,7 per cent last year.The Goreangab Dam is overflowing at 102,8 per cent of full capacity, while the Hardap Dam at Mariental is 61,4 per cent full compared to last season’s figure of 38,4 per cent.”We are very, very happy.This looks like a promising year,” said Rukoro.He said towards the end of last year, many regions were on the verge of starvation, but the good rain that started at the beginning of this month raised hopes for a good harvest this year, especially if it could continue until April.The Executive Manager of the NAU, Isak Coetzee, shares the same views.He said the NAU was very glad about the good rains and expects good prospects for crop and livestock farming.He said although there were still some areas in south-eastern Namibia that had received little rain, it was still early in the season and more rain had been predicted to be on the way.The good rains have also raised the levels of the country’s main storage dams higher than they were at the same time last year.According to NamWater’s latest dam bulletin, the Von Bach Dam is 67,8 per cent full compared to 37,7 per cent last year. The Goreangab Dam is overflowing at 102,8 per cent of full capacity, while the Hardap Dam at Mariental is 61,4 per cent full compared to last season’s figure of 38,4 per cent.