• Rep Agrimonitor

Distressed grazing due to poor rainfall

- 2023-05-02 00:00:00

Most parts of the country have reported distressed grazing conditions, which is largely attributed to poor rainfall conditions and dry spells which have dominated the 2022/2023 agricultural season.
This is according to the crop prospects and food security situation report issued by the agricultural ministry.
It, however, said grazing in the north-eastern parts of the country is reported to be much better than the rest of the country, given the relatively better rainfall conditions received in those regions.
Grazing conditions are good in the Khomas Region and some parts of Otjozondjupa, it added.
The report said apart from Okahandja, Tsumkwe, Gam and the Otjituuo constituencies, grazing is reported to range between fair to poor.
“Furthermore, grazing conditions are good in most parts of the //Karas Region, except for the extreme southern part where fair grazing conditions were reported.”

Good but dry
In Hardap, grazing is good but very dry, while poor conditions have been reported in the Rehoboth and Hoachanas areas where a devastating veld fire was reported in November 2022, which destroyed over 20 000 hectares of grazing land.
The report said in the Erongo Region, the overall grazing in most areas has improved and ranges between fair and good. However, Utuseb area did not receive rainfall this season, and its grazing is very poor.
“The overall grazing condition in most parts of Omaheke ranges between good to fair, except Aminuis, Epukiro Kalahari, Gobabis and Otjombinde constituencies where grazing condition is poor and very dry.”
It added that poor to fair grazing conditions were reported in the north-central regions, where sporadic rainfall coupled with severe dry spells were experienced. According to farmers, good rainfall was only received in January since beginning of the season.
Furthermore, grazing conditions in Kunene are generally fair, which - according to farmers - is due to the reduced number of livestock in the area. This is due to previous drought episodes which saw many livestock dying.
Grazing is, however, poor in the northern part of the region.