Poor crop yields expected for Zimbabwe in 2022
Late rainfall, below average incomes, and increasing input costs do not bode well for the 2022 harvesting season in Zimbabwe. This was according to a report by the international Famine Early Warning System Network (FEWS NET).
Brown locust infestation cause havoc in southern Namibia
Millions of hectares of grazing have so far been decimated by devastating infestations of brown locust (Locustana pardalina) in southern Namibia.
Volatile weather puts pressure on Botswana’s grain harvest
Botswana’s Ministry of Agricultural Development and Food Security has warned that farmers in that country are expecting a reduced grain harvest this year, following dry spells and heatwaves that destroyed dryland crops between January and March.
Namibia bans cattle movement after lung sickness outbreak
A complete ban on the movement cattle has come into immediate effect in four areas in the Kavango West Region of Namibia following an outbreak of contagious bovine pleuropneumonia.
New research findings could protect Namibia’s kudus from rabies
Rabies has killed thousands of kudus in Namibia since the 1970s, but years of research into methods to combat the often-devastating outbreaks have now yielded positive results.
Namibia’s agri sector on the rebound, despite Swakara losses
While most agricultural industries in Namibia achieved positive results in 2021, international trade restrictions imposed in an attempt to contain the COVID-19 pandemic has had a severely negative impact on the country’s Swakara industry.
Fears about increase in game poaching in Botswana
There are concerns that cases of wildlife poaching in Botswana could increase, following the government’s decision to allow game farming on land that has no security or fencing to control the movement of wild animals.
Wildlife attacks on Botswanan farmers increasing
Cases of wildlife attacks on farmers and their livestock in Botswana could increase as the government struggles to maintain fences that control the movement of dangerous wild animals in wildlife management areas.
Court decision awaited in hemp, cannabis dispute
The Gaborone High Court will deliver judgment in a case in which Fresh Standard, a Botswana-based company, is fighting for the right to obtain a licence to grow hemp and cannabis plants for industrial use on Kangwe farms.
Action against uranium mining in Namibia welcomed
The Namibia Agricultural Union (NAU) has welcomed the decision by that country’s Ministry of Agriculture, Water and Land Reform to withdraw two permits issued for the drilling of 37 boreholes for exploration and hydrogeological purposes in the Stampriet Basin.
Cost of farming escalates for producers in Namibia
The rising inflation rate in Namibia can partly be ascribed to the unprecedented spike in the price of agricultural inputs this year.
New data tool aims to fight Southern Africa’s wildlife crime
The African investigative environmental journalism group, Oxpeckers, has launched the #WildEye Southern Africa online tool to help map and track wildlife crime in Southern Africa.
