Drought, through the eyes of farmers

Namibia is experiencing its worst drought in 100 years. Annelie Coleman spoke to several farmers in the Mariental district, who shared their experience of the impact of several rainless years.

- Annelie Coleman

Hannes and Rita Rossouw’s house sits on top of a red dune in the Kalahari, near Mariental in Namibia, where they have been farming for the past 56 years. The two-track road leading up to the homestead on the farm Sonop winds from the road to Stampriet, through and over the dune veld that used to be covered with grass patches and a wide variety of herbaceous shrubs and trees.

Now the dunes are empty, leaving the Rossouws victims of the latest drought, which started in 2012.

THE WORST IN A CENTURY

Namibia is currently experiencing its worst drought in 100 years, with reports indicating that, as of August this year, 84% of its food reserves had been exhausted. On 22 May 2024, Namibian President Nangolo Mbumba declared a national state of emergency due to the ongoing drought.

In July, Farmer’s Weekly accompanied Henriette le Grange, national coordinator of the Namibia Drought Relief, and her husband Lourens on an animal feed distribution trip to Mariental, which included a visit the Rossouws.

According to Henriette, the severe drought in Namibia has developed into a humanitarian crisis that has left many farmers financially destitute, with many of them not able to put food on the table. The situation was caused not only by the drought, but also by extensive locust outbreaks and wide-ranging veld fires over the past 12 years

The western and southern parts of the country received virtually no rain and were particularly hard hit. She adds that some areas in the southern region had received far below the average annual rain for the past eight seasons. “It is our intention to assist these farmers and their families as far as we can, but for that to happen, we need the support of the public at large.”