Farmers trained on water management
FARMERS in the Omaheke region were last week trained on how to preserve and harvest water for later use, especially after a good rainfall season. This is at the back of concerns that plenty of water that gathers up in several pans, earth dams and small streams across the region is left to evaporate without being put to good use.
The workshop, conducted by the Konrad Adenauer Stiftung (KAS) in Gobabis was held under the theme “Natural resources (water) management and utilisation: the role of leaders in water technology innovations to enhance job creation”. Dennis Zaire, Senior Programme Manager at Konrad Adenauer Stiftung said the workshop was meant to bring awareness among the leaders on the use of water, how to manage water and the importance of water as one of the critical components of natural resources of what people have. Another key point was to reawaken the leaders for their responsibilities as regional decisionmakers, in terms of how people can use water better and make sure that they have excess water regardless of where they are situated in the country, he said.
“In Omaheke, there is an abundance of water, but also there are a lot of problems which are related to water, especially water utilisation or water management,” said Zaire. Zaire said the idea is to bring together all the stakeholders that have anything to do with water, such as the water point committees, chiefs, ministry of agriculture officials, among others so that they can share their expertise or experience on how better the water can be utilised in the region.
“I remember at the end of 2020 towards the beginning of this year, Omaheke received enormous rainfall, but not much has been done so far to harvest the water and store it, so that when the dry season comes there is enough water to be used,” he noted. The outreach by KAS started in 2018 and so far the following regions have benefited; Hardap, Otjozondjupa, Kavango East, Kavango West, and Omaheke. “We should continue this capacity building because it is needed, especially in the villages where one or two issues that are related to water such as boreholes, people not given adequate access to water, some people have better access to water than others and because of that, conflicts are always involved,” Zaire noted.
Some of the main topics that were covered are natural resources and job creation, the role of leadership in water (natural resources), the role of community in water (natural resources), and the regional economic approach.
Romanus Kawana, a researcher and water management expert who was the main facilitator at the workshop, said he was impressed with the level of participation from the farmers.
“Many participants in this workshop did not know that if you use the natural resources that you have such as water, trees, soil, and the sun you can create and increase employment as well as reduce poverty in the region. We should look at Egypt, the country that is known for selling perfume in the world which is just water (natural resources),” he noted.
Kawana said Omaheke is named after sand which indicates that Omaheke region is a good ground for water and the most concerning issue is how water is only valued when it is not available.
“We want people to understand that water is important or any other natural resources out there and can be used to create employment, thus through this awareness, a lot has been done and the progress is good in the regions,” he said.
Muree Mbingana, Senior Officer: Rural and Sanitation at the Ministry of Agriculture, Water and Land Reform said the workshop was helpful because he learned a lot about how water as a natural resource can be used to create job opportunities. “I have learned a lot about the importance of our natural resources and the different types of local resources such as land for crop production, Aloe Vera plant, underground water in Otjombinde, Epukiro, etc, and others that are within the region,” he stated. -Roots Online