Africa-Press – Namibia. NAMIBIA should expect normal to above normal rainfall for most of the period from October to December this year, the Agricultural Bank of Namibia has said – good news for the agricultural sector.
According to the Agribank Monthly Watch, Southern African Development Community weather experts predicted that most of the region will record normal to above normal rainfall for most of the period October 2021 to March 2022.
This is based on the seasonal forecast released following the Southern Africa Regional Climate Outlook Forum held from 30 to 31 August 2021. The seasonal forecast is split into four overlapping three-monthly periods from October 2021 to March 2022. Most parts of Namibia fall under Zone 4, which expects normal to above normal rainfall for the period October 2021 to December 2021.
Although the rainfall outlook at SADC level does not consider all factors influencing climatic variability across regions and farming areas in the country, it provides salient information to farmers and other economic sectors to prepare for a promising rainy season.
Following the release of the SADC rainfall outlook, the Namibia Meteorological Services will start providing updates on the national rainfall forecasts for the 2021/2022 season.
“Should seasonal predictions become a reality for most parts of the country, we expect improvement in pasture conditions for livestock and reduced pressure on irrigated and dry-land crop production, which ultimately strengthen production output and farmers’ cash flow positions.
“As we look forward to positive updates on national rainfall forecasts from the Namibia Meteorological Services, farmers are urged to prepare for all possible outcomes of below, normal and above normal rainfall,” said the report.
Jason Emvula, the president of the Namibia National Farmers Union, welcomed the prediction. He said the majority of his union’s members are in the northern communal areas (NCAs) and depend on rain-fed agriculture and should prepare for the good season starting now.
“I call upon all Namibians to work together for the sake of food security in the country,” he said. Meanwhile, there is a gradual uptick in the number of cattle marketed from January to July 2021, with an average monthly growth of 13%.
Despite the monthly increase, the number of cattle marketed declined by 21% year to date (YTD) (ending July) compared to the same period last year. “YTD, we observed a slowdown in both the slaughtered and live export of cattle by 24% and 15% to 50 067 and 71 701. Similarly, the sheep volumes marketed declined by 1% YTD compared to the prior year,” said the report.
Live export of sheep recorded an increase of 20% while slaughter numbers declined by 37% YTD. The continued decline in cattle numbers, when compared to last year, could have a bearing on the overall performance of the livestock and agriculture sector.
Despite the slowdown in the overall number of cattle slaughtered, it is worth noting that the Katima Mulilo abattoir has observed an increase in slaughtered numbers since June 2021.
The pursuit for new markets (the Democratic Republic of Congo and Ghana) for NCA beef is a step in the right direction to increase access to the formal market and promote sustainable livestock farming by the NCA farmers.
