News Analysis: Drought, budget cuts threaten Namibia's food bank program

The persistent drought and the financial problems bedeviling Namibia could affect the food bank program launched in July this year.

Namibia is under the grip of a three-year drought that has affected production and left about 800,000 people food insecure.

As if the drought is not enough to contend with, the country is currently experiencing economic problems that have forced the government to cut down on expenditure and to freeze more than 50 capital projects.

President Hage Geingob introduced the food bank program as part of the four-year Harambee Prosperity Plan to help those who earn below 400 Namibian dollars (29 U.S dollars) per month.

Since its inception, the program has only been rolled out in the Khomas region where Windhoek is the capital.

The poverty eradication ministry that is in charge of the program was allocated 2,9 billion Namibian dollars (210 million U.S dollars) for the 2016/17 financial year.

The ministry said that more than 80,000 people have already benefited from the first food distribution in July.

Plans to build a warehouse to store the food were, however, shelved in Nov. because of the budget cuts, according to poverty eradication minister Zephaniah Kameeta.

"Money to buy the land has been availed, but we have had to put on hold our building plans and use the money on more pressing matters," Kameeta has said.

According to Kameeta, those who receive state grants will not be included as beneficiaries of the food bank program.

He also said the program is most likely to be rolled out to the other regions next year.

The official opposition, DTA of Namibia, has however raised concerns that the food bank is unlikely to succeed because of the high costs involved.

The party's president McHenry Venaani also said that the recent budget cuts provide sufficient evidence that the government is already financially handicapped.

He also asked how Geingob wants to run a food bank using imported food stuff, which he said is not sustainable.

He said if the program is to succeed, Namibia needs to feed the beneficiaries locally-produced food instead of importing.

"In so doing, government will not only feed the poor but it will also create jobs and agricultural markets for farmers to sell their produce," Venaani said.

Although Venaani said there is need to modernize agriculture in Namibia, this is not possible with the current drought, which according to Agra, has seen crop farming target drop from 3.9 percent to 2.4 percent by end of Nov. this year.

Agra is leading agricultural industry player that provides agricultural and industry related products and services in Namibia.

The livestock sector recorded a -2.3 percent growth against a set target of 4.1 percent, while livestock farming contribution to the GDP declined from 3 percent to 1.9 percent over the same period, Agra said in a statement in late November. It added that crop farming contribution declined from 1.9 percent to 1.3 percent.

Agra chief executive officer Arnold Klein said the severe drought conditions have had a major impact on the agricultural sector that is highly dependent on rainfall.

Deputy Prime Minister Netumbo Nandi-Ndaitwah told the first-ever drought conference held in Windhoek in August that crop failures and livestock deaths are leading directly to shortages and higher prices of basic commodities.

She said some food prices have been increasing by double digits since March this year. Endit