07 Dec 2015

Residents of Sehithwa in Ngamiland District have pleaded with the government to accord a special treatment to the current drought situation in their area which has left farmers reeling in shock after losing many of their cattle.

They made the plea during a kgotla meeting addressed by a team from Maun which comprised some members of the North West Farmers Association (NWFA), assistant district officer, principal veterinary officer and some public servants from different departments.

The purpose of the meeting was to appreciate and assess the situation at Lake Ngami, and to solicit ideas from residents on what could be done to address the situation.

Residents called on the government to declare the situation a disaster and treat it the same way as Contagious Bovine Pleuro-Pneumonia (CBPP), which ravaged Ngamiland in 1995.

At that time, they said Ngamiland was declared an infested area and the entire cattle population in the district was culled to eradicate the disease.

They added that after the cull, the government offered a range of compensation options to affected farmers and that restocking started in 1997.

Residents pleaded with the government to consider providing them with food hampers to mitigate the situation which had already impoverished many farmers.

One of the residents, Ms Latelang Goitsemang revealed that the drought had affected Sehithwa and the surrounding villages and that food rations were ideal to help residents survive.

She said many were unable to feed themselves because there was no market to sell the remaining cattle.

She also noted that the livestock sector in Ngamiland had always been threatened by a number of trans-boundary diseases, which include Foot and Mouth Disease (FMD) and CBPP.

“Some of these diseases,” she said “were able to spread fast and have the potential to completely devastate the livestock industry in Ngamiland.”
 

Another resident, Ms Mosadithebe Maoto shared the same sentiments, noting that she had 30 cattle but today was empty handed due to FMD and the drought.

She said communities were unable to make ends meet while most farmers were defaulting in paying their loans as they were left with no cattle to sell.

Ms Maoto decried that FMD had negatively affected the economy hence the need for the government to come up with interventions to curb the disease and reduce the burden on communities who mostly depended on cattle rearing.

Speaking on behalf of the farmers, Mr Zacharia Nguvauva called on the government to secure beef markets so as to arrest the situation. He said the district has a population of over 400 000 cattle yet the holding capacity was 200 000. He said by securing a market, farmers would be able to manage and feed their cattle during difficult times.

Mr Nguvauva also requested the government to assist farmers with digging boreholes, adding that some had land where they could relocate their cattle, but were unable to dig boreholes due to financial constraints. He further emphasised the need for the government to ensure proper maintenance of the buffalo fence to prevent free movement. ENDS