18 Aug 2014

The fair to poor condition of grazing land in the Ngami area will have a negative impact on livestock farmers.

Briefing the District Drought Relief sub-committee for Maun on August 14, chief technical officer at department of forestry and range resources (DFRR), Ms Thomologo Mutukwa said the grazing condition was dreadful, therefore if rain delayed, farmers would have to buy feeds for their livestock.

She said according to a survey done by DFRR, the grazing condition in most areas was in fair to poor condition as the areas were dominated by annual grass species, which could not last longer.

“If the rains delay, farmers in some areas would have to feed their livestock,” she warned. Ms Mutukwa noted that there was high population of livestock in the Ngamiland, which immensely contributed to extinction of good and perennial species while only poor grazing species remained

She said cattle preferred good and perennial species but would resort to the poor species when it was the only option left. She explained that the survey was done in areas such as Sehithwa, Bodibeng, Bothatogo, Makakung, Semboyo, Kareng and Tsau.

In some areas like Sehithwa, Komana and Toteng, the report recommend that due to less forage for grazers, farmers should reduce their cattle and practice good management to utilise their rangeland.

Meanwhile, Maun Administrative Authority (MAA) Economic Planner, Ms Tebogo Pillar said the issue of cattle farming was a problem, which affected funding for youth farming related projects.

She said her office was cautious with granting funds to youth projects related to farming due to the issue of drought and lack of a market caused by unrelenting Foot and Mouth Disease (FMD) affecting the region.



She called for stakeholders to assist them with the way forward since there was no written correspondence, which supports stopping of grants to youth projects related to farming in the region.

Ms Pillar pointed that youth were making follow ups and querying the delay of their farming projects applications. The Ngamiland Assistant District Commissioner, Ms Gaehetswe Maphakwane said there was need for a common platform for stakeholders who dealt with related issues instead of being parallel.

Ms Maphakwane said such a platform would assist in handling matters better and making informed decisions and recommendations supported by evidence. Ends