Agriculture Minister Inge Zaamwani says the Livestock Support Programme must prioritise cattle distribution in drought-affected Erongo, Kunene and //Kharas to help farmers rebuild herds.
Agriculture Minister Inge Zaamwani has called for cattle distribution to be moved to the top of the agenda for drought-stricken communities this year.
Speaking at the Ministerial Performance Review for 2025/2026 and the Flaming Workshop for the 2026/2027 Financial Year, Zaamwani said her focus is straightforward: while the ministry has been working through “small stock” support such as goats and sheep, the same attention has not yet been given to cattle.. She told programme leadership that cattle distribution must feature more clearly in the Livestock Support Programme, alongside ongoing support for farmers in hard-hit areas.
Her remarks came as the ministry reviewed the previous year’s performance and set measurable targets tied to its Strategic Plan.. The workshops are designed to assess what has been delivered, identify lessons learned, and agree on priorities for the year ahead—an approach that matters in a sector where timing and targeting can make the difference between recovery and further losses.
Zaamwani said cattle across the Erongo, Kunene, and //Kharas regions have been significantly affected by drought.. In her view, the programme should therefore prioritise cattle distribution in those areas first, particularly in locations where livestock have been wiped out and farmers are left struggling to restart production.
She pointed to the visible consequences of drought on the ground, saying that despite grazing conditions in some places, the animals themselves are gone.. “I was in Omatjete last year and I have seen the empty kraal,” she said, describing a scene where livestock had died from drought even though grazing land still existed.. Her message to the programme team was that access to animals is the missing piece, not the idea of grazing.
While the minister acknowledged that the most recent rainy season appears relatively good in many parts of the country, she cautioned that drought remains an issue in specific regions.. Parts of Erongo and Kunene, she said, continue to face dry conditions, meaning farmers there may not have the same natural relief that others are seeing.
From a practical perspective, the push for cattle distribution targets more than immediate household food needs.. Cattle support livelihoods through milk, breeding, and income opportunities linked to livestock sales.. Replacing a lost herd is often a slow process, and when the recovery is delayed, farmers can fall deeper into debt, reduce their ability to buy feed or veterinary support, and become more vulnerable to future shocks.
The emphasis on measurable targets during the ministry’s workshops also signals an administrative shift: priorities are expected to be translated into plans that can be tracked, rather than treated as general intentions.. That matters because drought response typically involves several steps—identifying beneficiaries, arranging logistics, and ensuring that distributed livestock reach communities at the right time—so delays can quickly reduce the impact of assistance.
There is also a broader pattern behind the minister’s call.. Support for small stock often requires different handling and may reach different household groups, but cattle are central to the long-term rebuilding of herds in many rural areas.. By asking for cattle distribution to be brought forward, Zaamwani is effectively arguing for a more balanced approach that reflects where the damage has been greatest.
For Misryoum readers, the concern is simple: drought does not just reduce current production—it changes the structure of rural households.. When farmers lose cattle, it can take seasons to recover, and the next dry period can arrive before recovery is complete.. Zaamwani’s insistence that cattle distribution be prioritised this year is therefore a reminder that drought support needs to be timed to recovery windows, not just to reporting cycles.