by New Era Staff Reporter
Keetmanshoop
Some communal farmers in the Karas region are so despondent because of the persistent drought that they have started to share their rations of mealie meal with their goats. They say their livestock will continue to die in large numbers if it does not rain soon.
The lingering drought, especially in the country’s driest region, is becoming worrisome, with some farmers now sharing their food with their animals as they try desperately to keep their livestock alive.
When New Era visited some farms in the area, many farmers said they have now put everything in God’s hands and can only hope that the region will soon be blessed with rain. Lukas Willemse, a farmer at Nuwefontein about 30 kilometres east of Keetmanshoop, said it is very dry in his area and the livestock have nothing left to eat.
The lack of grazing has forced him to take from the mealie-meal he got from the government through the drought relief programme and share it with his goats, especially the kids that are not fit enough to run around the veld in search of grass. “I’m taking from my food in order to feed the small goats. We have a big problem and it will get worse if we don’t receive some rain,” he said, while standing at his kraal. He added that giving mealie-meal to the goats has become a common practice amongst farmers in the area, as it is relatively cheap, compared to buying fodder, which is extremely expensive for communal farmers. It costs N$113 for 35 kg of lucerne and – the amount of feed used by onegoat for eleven days. Willemse, who has 23 Boer goats, spends on average N$222 per day, or N$6 650 a month on fodder.
Willemse says many farmers are starting to lose hope; for one, because their animals are not in a good condition to fetch high prices at the market. He says some commercial farmers are taking advantage of the situation by buying goats from the struggling farmers at low prices and taking these to their farms where they are fed and later sold for high profits.
Simon Vries, who is also a small stock farmer in the same area, spoke about how the drought is affecting their lives negatively, saying the goats are his family’s only source of income, but the prices have dropped drastically due to the drought. He says it’s a tricky question whether to sell at a low price or not, because the goats might eventually die of hunger. “The prices are very low, but if you don’t sell then the goats are dying so it’s pointless,” he said, as he pointed to a decaying goat carcass being eaten by a dog nearby.
The lack of grazing area has forced some farmers to go with their goats into the veld in search of grass, with some climbing trees to cut off branches to feed to their goats. While other parts of the country have received some rainfall, the Karas Region has received just a few scattered showers so far.
The water situation is, however, still good. Most farmers said they have no problems with water, which is mainly underground.