Namibian farmers suffer rising feed cost as drought persists

Namibian farmers have suffered a rise in the cost of feed due to a prolonged drought, officials and locals say.

"On a year-on-year basis, feed cost has seen an increase of 50 percent since July last year," said Sakkie Coetzee, the chief executive officer of Namibia Agricultural Union (NAU).

A lack of rains has resulted in very limited feed available for farm animals, which in turn has caused an increase of at least 20 percent on feed costs over the past few months, local farmers tell Xinhua.

Coetzee said should the drought persist, it would have a negative impact on the livelihood of "every Namibian", and ultimately the economy at large.

He warned of increased food prices as a result.

"Maintaining feed supply thus becomes a very costly exercise, which is why we recently saw the increase in the price of maize and pasta. The unfortunate reality is that food prices are bound to increase drastically, and the cost of putting food on the table will increase," he said.

Local farmer, Roelie Venter, said the prolonged drought had hit them hard.

"When we have a short period of drought, grass usually grows out of reserves when rain is received, however, because this drought has been prolonged, even the reserves from which new grass usually sprouts, are dying," Venter said.

NAU commodities manager, Harald Marggraff, said there was a risk that some farmers would "lose everything".

"Many farmers are on their knees, praying for some rain. I do not think people realize how serious the matter is. And the ripple effect it will have on the supply chain, will be a very unpleasant affair, for everyone," Marggraff said. Endit