Northern farmers urged to sell cattle amid drought

Livestock farmers in the northern communal areas are urged by the Ministry of Agriculture, Water and Land Reform to cut the size of their herds as drought conditions scorch grazing land.

The sale of cattle is said to have its most severe impact on subsistence herders who graze their livestock mostly on communal lands and cannot afford to provide the animals with feed supplements as drought concerns mount, says agriculture spokesperson Jona Musheko.

He was speaking during a recent livestock auction at Ndevahoma auction kraal in the Ohangwena region, where some farmers have begun selling their livestock to reduce numbers.

“Farmers are advised to reduce their livestock in order to protect limited pasture by selling them off. We have auction kraals in all the regions and we want the farmers to make use of them and bring their livestock to auction them off before the drought takes a toll on them.

“We understand that most parts have experienced drought, hence our plea to all the livestock farmers out there to avoid losses,” Musheko said.

He said livestock farmers should sell their livestock while they are still in good shape to mitigate the effects of the drought currently ravaging the northern parts of the country.

Earlier this year, The Namibian reported that the total number of cattle marketed in the country has increased by 49% to 22 052 in March, compared to 14 848 in the prior month.

According to Agribank’s monthly market watch for April, the upsurge is noted across all cattle marketing activities, with a triple-digit growth of 103% to 8 142 observed in live exports.

The lack of rain in most of the northern parts have affected the availability of pasture to feed livestock, hence some farmers have resorted to feeding their livestock cardboard and crushed tree branches and leaves, because they cannot afford to buy cattle feed.

Nadhipite Shilongo, a communal farmer from the Oshana region, says he goes to the shops and dumpsites to look for discarded cardboard boxes to feed his livestock because he cannot afford to buy cattle feed.

“I travel to town almost every day to look for carton boxes around shopping malls and dumpsites to feed my livestock. My cattle solely survive on cardboard boxes because there is no grass for the livestock to graze on. Sometimes, I feed my livestock crushed tree branches. My only hope is for rain to come early before our livestock die of hunger. I am not prepared to sell my herd or auction it off, because I’m afraid I might not be able to recover my herd again,” he says.