Africa-Press – Namibia. Heavy rains and strong winds have dealt a significant blow to agricultural production in Kavango East, with approximately 200 tonnes of maize destroyed at the government’s Uvhungu-vhungu irrigation farm last week.
Pontianus Kashokora, a senior worker at the farm, told this publication that the incident occurred after persistent rain covered most parts of the land, leaving the area waterlogged and inaccessible.
The dangerous weather conditions not only flattened crops but also damaged their ability to produce market-value grains, effectively wiping out hopes for a successful harvest.
“The maize has been severely affected, and much of it will not be able to enter the market for sale,” the senior worker explained. “The rains and strong winds destroyed a large portion of the crop,” he said.
The affected area, according to the senior worker, spans about 47 hectares, making the loss particularly devastating for their production this season. As a result of waterlogged conditions, harvesting machinery is unable to operate in such soggy weather.
The farm has instead turned to manual labour, hiring local community members to harvest what remains by hand.
“This puts another huge cost on the farm, as we have now turned to manual labour to be able to harvest the destroyed maize.
We have so far hired 60 people, and we intend to double the number by two and see if we can finalise the work by the end of the month. But production-wise, making profit would be impossible this season as the rains have left us in a tight spot,” he added.
This shift has slowed down operations, further compounding the farm’s challenges. Due to the extent of the damage, the farm will no longer be able to sell maize from the affected fields, resulting in a major financial setback.
In addition to the weather-related losses, Kashokora also revealed that elephants have caused further destruction at another section of the farm, worsening an already difficult situation.
“Also, just last week, we encountered elephants that destroyed the other part of the farm, destroying several crops at the farm. I reached out to the media for coverage of the incident, but nobody showed up. The elephants stayed for three days before vacating the farm,” he said.
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