Namibia: Good Harvest Expected in Maize Triangle

23 April 2014

Windhoek — Namibian producers in the Maize Triangle and other production areas are set to exceed all expectations with this year's total white maize harvest at the end of July. The expectations shot up to an expected 68 213 tonnes when members of the Agronomic Board finalised their crop estimation report yesterday after visiting the Maize Triangle in recent days to gather first-hand information from producers.

The good news comes in the wake of last year's depleted harvest when the Maize Triangle, known as the bread basket of Namibia, produced a mere 35 000 tonnes of white maize during the debilitating drought of 2013. The Maize Triangle is made up of the Grootfontein, Otavi and Tsumeb agricultural areas. This significant and unexpected recovery after good rains in the planting season up to the end of March will fall just short of the record-breaking harvest of 74 000 tonnes in 2012. Antoinette Venter, administrative manager of grain of the Namibian Agronomic Board, confirmed the white maize final estimate yesterday to New Era, saying it is "a huge relief to hear that the total harvest will be pushed up to more than 68 000 tonnes after the initial fears of yet another depleted total yield because of the severe drought of 2013".

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