Namibia : Maize & Wheat production drops drastically due to drought
Namibia’s wheat production fell 83.72% in 2024/25 due to poor rainfall, forcing 97.7% reliance on imports. Maize output dropped 31.4%, threatening food security. However, groundnut production surged 233.33%. Despite lower yields, wheat and maize prices rose by 6.88% and 28.77%, respectively, offering some relief to farmers amid challenging conditions.
This marks a significant 51.84% drop from the 2023/24 season and threatens the country’s food security.
According to the Namibia Agricultural Union annual report for 2023/24, this sharp decline reflects the ongoing impact of the poor rainfall the country received.
Similarly, local wheat production suffered a dramatic decline, with only 2 984 tonnes produced in 2024/25, a staggering 83.72% decrease from the 2023/24 season where 18 328 tonnes was harvested.
Agronomic Producers Association (APA) chairperson Gerald Engelbrecht attributes this reduction largely to the low Hardap Dam water levels which suspended irrigation supply.
“As a result, wheat imports rose to 126 654 tonnes, covering 97.7% of local demand,” he says in the report.
Engelbrecht says Namibia produced about 98 824 tonnes of maize in the 2022/2023 season and imported 92 205 tonnes of maize, meaning local production surpassed imports by 7.2%, leaving the total demand for white maize at 191 028 tonnes that year.
“Poor rainfall and market dynamics negatively affected the production of white maize for the 2023/2024 season.
“As a result, the recorded figures of white maize for 2023/2024 stood at 67 747 tonnes, which is 31.4% less than what was marketed during the same period in 2022/2023,” he says.
Production in the Karst and Central areas decreased by 52.6% and 29.9%, respectively, while in the south, maize production increased by 20.8%.
The white maize price per tonne was N$7 386.06 in the 2024/25 marketing season, showing an improvement of 28.77% when compared to the 2023/2024 season, the report says.
Meanwhile, Namibia recorded local wheat production of about 18 328 tonnes for 2023/2024, indicating a decrease of 25.8% from the 2022/2023 period, and a further 83.72% drop in the 2024/2025 period when only 2 984 tonnes of wheat was locally produced.
“Wheat imports were estimated to be 126 654 tonnes in the 2024/2025 season, constituting 97.7% of local demand and producers received on average N$7 453.03/tonne, demonstrating an improvement in price of 6.88% from the previous season,” says Engelbrecht.
He says the production of irrigated groundnuts increased, leaving the estimated production for the 2024/2025 season at 4 000 tonnes, and the price at N$17 000 per tonne.
“A good number of producers diversified to groundnut production, hence the estimated production increased significantly by 233.33%,” he says.
Engelbrecht says during the period under review, the APA negotiated with the Namibian Grain Processors’ Association for wheat producers to receive a 3.6% levy (i.e. arrears/arrears of salaries) on the marketing during the 2022 season.
“In value, farmers received about N$292/tonne, worth N$7.1 million as 24 195 tonnes were marketed in 2022,” Engelbrecht says.
To read more about Maize News continue reading Agriinsite.com
Source : Namibian
