Africa-Press – Angola. Peasants in Cunene province expressed their concern, Wednesday, with irregular rainfall, a situation that could result in an unsatisfactory harvest.
In a round carried out by the reporting team, in several agricultural fields in Ondjiva, the peasants stated that the irregular start of the rain is constituting a great concern for the rural population.
Peasant Hilário Tuhambikida said that the first rains in the region were recorded in November and allowed the planting and the launching of the first seeds in the ground, but they did not germinate.
“We are worried and sad about the rainy season, time passes and the crop is at a standstill, because the soil is so dry that it is not easy to plow”, he said.
Haidenga Panduleni, another peasant, said that with this record a threatened agricultural campaign is expected. At this stage of the rainy season, most of the fields would be worked and the massango and massambala crops would be grown.
Madalena Kauna underlined that everything that was sown ended up drying up due to the lack of rain and high temperatures in Cunene.
Still with some hope, the peasant Anacleto Peingondunge said that they will wait for the remaining days in December and beginning of January to see if the rain resumes, and go back to work to launch the reserve of seeds that will last for three months.
The cattle breeder also recalled that the animals at this point are weakened due to the shortage of grass and water in certain locations.
For his part, the head of the department of the Institute of Agrarian Development (IDA) of Cunene, Américo Paciência, said that, according to INAMET, the rain forecasts in the region point to a normal trend between January and March 2023.
He explained that in Cunene province the first rains occurred in November, with a record of 16.1 millimeters of rain and already in the current month only two millimeters.
Américo Paciência recalled that historical data show that rainfall in the province varies annually by an average of between 300 and 600 millimeters, appealing to peasants to remain calm and confident, despite the irregularities.
Agricultural year 2022/2023 in Cunene
The present agricultural campaign, in the province of Cunene, opened in November this year, in the commune of Mucope, municipality of Ombadja, foresees a production of 500 thousand tons of different products.
In order to achieve this objective, an increase in the cultivation of cereals, legumes and pumpkins is foreseen, with 588 thousand and 84 hectares already prepared, 375 tons of seeds and 150 tons of fertilizers.
It foresees an involvement of 160 thousand and 30 families, a figure higher than the 147 thousand and 21 who participated in the previous campaign.
The agricultural sector in the province controls 119 cooperatives and 160 peasant associations.
In Cunene province, 85 percent of agricultural production comes from the family sector.
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