Are you prepared for the 2018 dry season?

Dr Cornelis van der Waal, Agri-Ecological Services - Namibia is the most arid country in sub-Saharan Africa. Arid areas experience high variability in rainfall, hence widely fluctuating forage production from year-to-year.

Furthermore, in most of Namibia’s rangelands a short rainy season is followed by a 6 - 9 month long dry season. Fodder that accumulates at the end of the rainy season has to sustain animals until the next rainy season, the timing of which remains uncertain and difficult to forecast. It is therefore crucial that farmers pro-actively plan for the dry season ahead and take action as soon as possible. Poor or postponed management actions may result in animal losses, missed marketing opportunities and eventually lead to rangeland degradation such as the loss of desirable, perennial grazing plants and accelerated soil erosion.

While experience of previous forage shortages is an invaluable source of information to base such crucial decisions upon, many young or emerging farmers do not have access to such wisdom when most needed, which may result in disaster. Fortunately, new technology and information systems are now available to assist farmers.

The Namibian rangeland early warning system was developed with funds of the European Union and Agribank Namibia and is implemented by Agra Limited and Agri-Ecological Services. The early warning system makes use of satellite technology, which monitors the activity (greenness) of the vegetation of the current growing season. Products disseminated to land users include maps showing the current vegetation activity or greenness (based on the Normalised Difference Vegetation Index).

The information is available through a website and a bi-weekly email service. Farmers can therefore follow how the vegetation activity or greenness changes in relation to previous years. If below average vegetation greenness occurs for prolonged periods during the late growing season, low forage production are to be expected and farmers should take timely action. Livestock live market trends are also available via the email service (see example of prices for tollies).

The map on the opposite page shows how the current vegetation greenness for 11 March 2018 to 10 April 2018 compares to the greenness of the previous 15 seasons for the same March - April period. Red on the maps indicates that the current greenness is far below normal, while green shows areas where the current situation is above normal for this time of the year. Since the growing season is quickly nearing its end, farmers in red parts on the map should carefully consider whether they have enough fodder available for their animals to bridge the dry season, especially where no recent rainfall were received.

We are currently also developing an Application for cell phones which will allow farmers to quickly calculate their animal stocking rates (game and livestock) to estimate dry season fodder flow for their situation. The App will be available free of charge on both Android and iOS platforms in the near future.

For more information, please visit the www.namibiarangelands.com website

Do you want to receive regular emails about livestock prices and current vegetation greenness patterns? Subscribe via the website or send an email to: [email protected]