Namibia country report

stock theft there. The closest police station was at Gibeon, approximately 100 km west ofthe farm Jakkalsdraai. Often the police did not have staff and/or vehicles to investigatecrime in the area, and if they did come out to the crime scene, there was never any follow-upinvestigation. Maria in Omaheke was adamant that most of the stock theft on her farm wascommitted by people from the neighbouring group resettlement scheme at Skoonheid. Inher view, government had not done people in the surrounding areas a favour by settlingpeople at Skoonheid. This view may be imbued with some ethnic bias in that the settlerson Skoonheid are predominantly of San decent.Livestock diseases were another cause of losses, particularly of goat and sheep lambs whichare highly susceptible to diseases and which made up the highest percentage of small-stocklosses. In Omaheke, more cattle were lost than small stock. The survey did not classifystock losses in terms of natural death, theft and lost (i.e. wandering away). Table 20 reflectsall stock losses as well as the numbers of animals that beneficiaries consumed themselves.Table 20: Livestock losses and livestock utilised for own consumption on FURS farms, 2008OmahekeHardapDied, lost, stolen Own consumption Died, lost, stolen Own consumptionCattleCalves 8 1Heifers 5 3Cows 5 4Oxen 3 1 1GoatsLambs 14 138 31Rams 1Nannies 69 10Wethers 3 16 3 21SheepLambs 12 154 37Ewes 2 151 15Wethers 1 28Attaching a market value to the high livestock losses in Hardap would decrease the grossincome per hectare by N$1,50 to give a gross income of only N$1,50 per hectare.Respondents in Hardap did not explicitly mention the reasons for their cattle losses. Thesmall stock lost were mainly lambs and ewes/nannies. Lambs are highly susceptible todiseases and require good husbandry practices. The high losses of adult females could beattributed to veterinary causes and poor condition, especially during the early lactationperiod. A few farmers in Hardap mentioned that in October 2007 (i.e. three months beforethe applicable interviews), a devastating cold front which lasted for a few days resulted insubstantial losses. These losses were included in the data to be analysed. Four beneficiariesmentioned that they had slaughtered some small stock (goats and sheep) on a regular basisfor their household’s consumption. It was common for farmers to slaughter one or two goatsor sheep per month for consumption by themselves and their workers.102 ● Livelihoods after land reform: Namibia country report (2010)