With the on going drought prevailing across large parts of Namibia, livestock producers seem to be getting the short end of the stick when it comes to putting their livestock on the market. For producers in the Northern Communal Areas, conditions are dire since grazing is dismal and an official marketing channel is lacking. Wallie Roux, Manager: Research and Development at the Namibia Agricultural Union said that most livestock producers affected by the drought are getting what the Economist terms "a raw deal".
"The reason is that the producers are compelled to sell their livestock due to a lack of grazing - hence the animals are not market ready and as a result the producers get less than they would for market ready animals and this does not only apply to the Northern Communal Areas, but the country as a whole," he said.
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