The government of Japan says it will provide a N$9-million emergency grant to Namibia to aid drought-stricken parts of the country.
The aid, part of a larger N$44 million (US$2.5 million) package for Zambia and Namibia, is aimed at addressing the severe food insecurity caused by the worst drought in the region’s history.
The funds will be channelled through the United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) and will be used to procure and distribute essential food items to vulnerable populations impacted by the prolonged dry spell.
This comes as Southern Africa only received 20% of regular annual precipitation during the rainy season at the end of last year to early 2024, and the amount of cereal harvest has declined significantly.
The region has been facing serious food insecurity, not only because of the drought but also because of the soaring global food prices reflecting the current international situation.
The Integrated Food Security Phase Classification (IPC) projected that between July and September 2024, an analysis of the population revealed that 1.4 million people, representing 48% of the total, were facing high acute food insecurity and were in urgent need of assistance.
Meanwhile, the Namibian Agronomic Board (NAB) forecasted that the country could spend over N$1 billion on maize imports this year to augment a maize shortfall caused by drought.
NAB Chief Executive Officer Fidelis Mwazi said Namibia historically produces around 52% of its total maize consumption, averaging roughly 98,000 metric tonnes annually out of a demand for 178,000 metric tons.
He said if they use the average production from the past five years, they will still fall short of demand by 145,000 metric tonnes.
The current drought is expected to drastically reduce domestic production to a mere 33,000 metric tonnes.
