Rainfall in Namibia is expected to pick up to above normal until March after a dry season.
According to the Bank of Namibia’s (BoN) economic outlook this is a result of expected La Niña-induced rainfall.
“The Southern Africa Regional Climate Outlook Forum (SARCOF-29) expects Namibia to experience normal to above-normal rainfall for the period from November 2024 to March 2025,” the BoN says.
This will result in the recovery of crop production activities which were severely affected by drought.
“Looking ahead to 2025, crop production activities are projected to recover on the back of anticipated La Niña-induced rainfall, which is expected to support the sector’s recovery,” the bank says.
However, the agriculture, forestry and fishing sectors are expected to contract in 2024 before improving in 2025.
“This poor growth trend is primarily attributed to crop failures due to severe drought experienced across all production sub-categories during the 2024/25 planting season,” the BoN says.
The sector is expected to pick up at a growth rate of 2.6% in 2025.
Due to low rainfall and prolonged drought, Namibia was declared a hunger hotspot last month.
The Namibian recently reported that 35 197 Namibian children under five years old are severely or moderately malnourished.
This is in addition to 7 057 severely or moderately malnourished pregnant people and lactating mothers.
The report also showed that the livestock sector will experience growth of 11.5% in 2024, up from 9.1% recorded last year.
“This increase is driven by increased livestock marketing as farmers dispose of stock due to severe drought pressures,” the bank says.
However, the same sector will experience a slowdown in growth in 2025 as farmers are expected to rebuild their herds.
In October the livestock and meat industry experienced a surge in marketing activities during the first quarter of 2024, particularly in the cattle sector, which saw a growth rate of 47.9%.
The industry, however, experienced challenges due to high input costs and low rainfall.
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