Africa-Press – Namibia. OHANGWENA Governor Walde Ndevashiya, farmers have begun bringing their animals into Angola for grazing.
Ndevashiya said this during his State of the Region Address (SORA) on Monday.
He said that the current state of affairs necessitates the government and the Angolan leadership calling a High Level Engagement to discuss the issue of Namibian farmers grazing in Angola.
In light of the recent inflow of cattle producers looking for better pasture, he stated that they will look into the potential of formalizing and providing grazing rights, particularly in the Cunene and Cuando Cubango Provinces.
According to the 2019 livestock census by the Meat Board of Namibia, Ohangwena Region has a large number of livestock producers both small and large stock estimated over 359 419 and over 33 000 small stock of which most residents depends for livelihoods.
Thus, Ndevashiya said the Region is experiencing a severe drought that will impact in most if not all the constituencies.
“We have observed that most areas in the Region have experienced less rainfall over the past months, which has led to an impeding situation where a poor crop harvest and poor grazing rangeland is
expected for the current rainy season,” he said.
As a result of the insufficient
grazing due to the bad rainfall and flooded rangelands, Ndevashiya said livestock farmers are facing a difficult time and have begun looking for grazing in Angola.
He added that his office has been inundated with calls from Farmers and Traditional Authorities from the Region, requesting for dialogue between the Namibian and Angola authorities on the issue of livestock grazing.
For More News And Analysis About Namibia Follow Africa-Press
