Namibia PDNA 2009 - GFDRR

Figure 21: Livestock caught
in submerged fields
The floods washed away the stocks of sorghum
and pearl millet (mahangu) stored from the
previous harvest and from the 2009 harvest,
and the remaining stocks at the household level
are not expected to last beyond September. The
losses of mahangu stocks have reduced the food
availability and affect vulnerable households in
both urban and rural areas. Furthermore, the
situation can be expected to worsen around
August and September, at which point, even those
famers who managed to reap a small harvest
will have exhausted their food stocks. External
assistance will be required for approximately
one third of the population in the flood-affected
areas. The food needs arising from losses are
estimated to be over N$47 million.
In terms of medium-term recovery actions to enable farmers to successfully harvest in the 2009/2010 season, significant government
interventions are needed. The main harvest next year may be affected due to the reduction in seed availability, as it is likely that the
most vulnerable households might consume the part of the production usually reserved as seed for the following year. At the same
time, the household annual budget to purchase seeds might be used to obtain food commodities. Furthermore, since the seed cooperative
crops were severely damaged by the flood, it will be necessary to import seeds. Without external assistance, long-term
reduction in household food availability is forecasted in the area. The total cropland area affected by the flooding was over 90,000 ha.
Required inputs will be seed, fertilizer, and ploughing assistance.
Irrigation. The north-central and north-eastern Regions
are affected by drought as well as floods. In terms of
long-term recovery, therefore, multi-use flood protection
and irrigation schemes are recommended to reduce the
regions’ vulnerability to disasters. The benefits of irrigation
for drought control are obvious. As for flood control, if
crops can be planted earlier, they stand a better chance
of providing at least some yield should flooding occur.
Given that the north-central regions are characterized
by small-scale subsistence farming, a single regional
irrigation scheme would not be appropriate, and smallscale
irrigation schemes should instead be investigated
at the village or homestead levels. In order to effectively
implement such a multi-use scheme on a regional scale,
however, changes in the farming patterns from small-scale
individuals to larger cooperatives may be necessary.
Figure 22: Crops are critical to the survival of rural residents
In order to estimate the cost of putting all 10,000 hectares under irrigation, a unit cost of US$5,000 per ha was used. This unit cost
was developed in an earlier study conducted by the World Bank for all of Africa (see Annex 4 for details).
Diversification: The main crop intensification programme introduced by the Ministry of Agriculture, Water and Forestry (MAWF) in
the region has been fruit trees, which have served both as a food source as well as a supplementary source of income to farmers. In
the north central regions, donkeys have been progressively introduced due to their known resistance to floods, as they can continue
to graze in flooded areas. The annual reports produced by the Government of the Republic of Namibia’s agencies/ministries (NPC,
MAWF, Ministry of Fisheries and Ministry of Lands and Resettlement) are useful sources to elaborate correctly on the ‘diversification’
initiatives such as irrigated vegetable production, inland fisheries, indigenous plants promotion (devil’s claw), or rice cultivation. Further
encouragement of donkey farming could also be explored.
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