Namibia Dairies, a subsidiary of the Ohlthaver & List Group which owns the !Aimab Superfarm at Mariental, has expressed grave concern about the looming drought in the Hardap region.
The Hardap Dam water levels currently stand at 42 per cent, which increases the likelihood that southern Namibia will experience another drought disaster, which will be detrimental to businesses.
The !Aimab Superfarm currently employs 68 Namibians and has 1 800 cows that produce 35 litres of milk per day, and between 29 000 and 33 000 litres per month.
Group Manager for Corporate Relations at Ohlthaver & List, Roux-Che Locke in a recent interview told Nampa that the lack of water would result in no agriculture, which would have an impact on not only the dairy farm, but also all other activities that support the local economy, and unemployment could increase.
”As part of the business community of the Hardap Region we implore all stakeholders to engage in order to find effective management strategies for our national assets, especially where it affects us in ways such as water conservation and alternative feed sources that can help mitigate some of these challenges,” she said.
Currently, the demand for raw milk in the area is much higher than the supply. South Africa faces the same issue, so this is a current regional problem. The super farm currently supplies around 65 per cent of the current local raw milk supply, according to Locke.
She further said milk is collected in the milk parlour three times daily and tanked to be sent to the manufacturing and processing facility in Windhoek.
The rotary milk plant, which was installed in August 2009, is one of the biggest in southern Africa. It provides raw milk to the Namibia Dairies Manufacturing Plant.
The 250 hectares of land irrigated at the !Aimab Superfarm has its own agronomic arm and is supplied with water from the nearby Hardap Dam.
The farm plants two crops each year: maize in the summer and wheat in the winter, both of which are harvested in May and June.
Source: The Namibian Press Agency
