Drought-stricken farmers in northern Namibia urged to sell livestock to avoid financial loss

A senior government official has advised farmers in northern Namibia suffering from drought to sell their livestock to avoid financial losses.

Agriculture accounts for about 5 percent of Namibia’s gross domestic product, but farming, including cattle raising, accounts for nearly two-thirds of the population’s income.

Oshana regional governor, Elia Irimari, on Monday told local media that farmers in one of the southwest African nation’s most populous regions should sell some of their livestock to avoid losses due to a lack of pasture.

“I want to advise our farmers to start selling some of their livestock to avoid losing their animals due to drought,” the governor said.

He said his office would soon approach the prime minister’s office for food relief.

Some crops have begun to wilt, while people and animals are now facing a bleak future due to a lack of pasture in the northern regions of Omusati, Kunene, and Oshana.

In 2020, Namibian state-owned meat processing and marketing firm Meatco resorted to importing cattle from neighboring Botswana to meet export quotas as severe drought decimated local herds and threatened beef export deals with China and European countries. Enditem