Africa-Press – Namibia. MORE than 8,000 bales of grass were donated to the Namibia drought relief project to benefit commercial farmers living in the fire ravished areas of Aranos, as well as communal farmers in the drought-stricken Khorixas and Damaraland.
First National Bank of Namibia donated towards the relief project, which also saw 25 communal farmers in Karasburg benefitting from the lucern bales. Rene Botes, FNB Manager: Merchant Acquiring, said that agriculture and farming are the backbone of the economy and contributes greatly to the Gross domestic product (GDP), as well as employment creating and food security.
While many farmers welcomed good rains last year, there are still many areas within Namibia which have been crippled by drought for the past years and have not had the relief of good rains.
Coupled with this, fires all over the country have destroyed thousands of hectares of farmland and “Our hearts go out to the farmers who are battling these natural elements,” said Botes.
Botes noted that they are in a privileged position to help and know that every donation towards farmers assists them to make a success of their business, thereby contributing towards wealth creation and job creation in the country. More drought relief came forth through the Leonardville Farmers Association, driven by Gys van Tonder.
