WINDHOEK ELLANIE SMIT
A desert research expert says in terms of Namibia's Drought Policy, the country is not experiencing a drought emergency at present.
Dr Mary Seely, a senior associate at the Desert Research Foundation of Namibia (DRFN), was speaking at a workshop in Windhoek yesterday.
"This is a management drought and not an agricultural drought," said Seely.
"This is backed up by the fact that according to the [drought] policy the seasonal rainfall measured in a particular area must be below the lowest 7% of values recorded annually," she said.
"Everybody is convinced that we are in a terrible state and we probably are, but this is due to a lack of management."
The workshop was held to prepare for the 11th Conference of Parties to the UN Convention to Combat Desertification, which will be held in Windhoek in September and will be attended by about 3 000 delegates.
Seely said these delegates are going to look at graphs, presentations and other information that Namibia will present on the current drought. "They are going to ask, what drought? This is not a national drought."
The criteria for declaring a drought disaster, according to the Drought Policy, include that the seasonal rainfall must be below the lowest 7% of recorded annual rainfall in a particular area.
Seely showed a graph of rainfall recorded at Ondangwa for the past 60 years. This graph showed that over the past five years the rainfall at Ondangwa in fact has been above normal.
The driest recorded years there were 1981 (118,6 mm), 1986 (181,5 mm) 1989 (187,1 mm) 1992 (96 mm) and 1991 (171,1 mm).
She could not obtain this year's total rainfall for Ondangwa, but instead presented this year's rainfall figures for nearby Mahenene (219,6 mm) and Okashana (325,8 mm). Both these rainfall figures are well above those of the drought years mentioned above.
Seely stressed that if the drought policy was followed, farmers would have been prepared for the drought.
The policy specifically points out that farmers should reduce their vulnerability to drought by managing their herds properly.
It is also aimed at enabling rural people and the agricultural sector to recover quickly from droughts by establishing an independent and permanent national drought fund.
Seely explained that the policy states that declaring a drought emergency too frequently is expensive for the government and can create dependency amongst aid recipients.
The policy is concerned with shifting responsibility for managing drought risk from the government to the farmer, with financial assistance only being considered in the event of an extreme or disaster drought being declared.
The Ministry of Agriculture, Water and Forestry did not respond to questions sent to them by the time of going to press.