Nambia: Zambezi farmers demand more compensation for crop damage

SMALL-SCALE crop farmers in the Zambezi region say the government should compensate them with the actual value of crops destroyed by wildlife. Human-wildlife conflict within the region has been of great concern for the already poor farmers, who end up losing thousands of dollars of what they spend on production annually. The Ministry of Environment, Forestry, and Tourism reimburses farmers whose crops are damaged by wildlife with N$1 000 per hectare. Lister Lutiyo, who farms at Nongozi village in the Sangwali area yesterday told The Namibian about 4,5ha of his maize and watermelon fields were destroyed by elephants on Tuesday.He said he was planning to harvest this coming weekend. “I spent about N$14 800 on ploughing and field preparation. However, now I won't be able to get the money invested in my crop fields. “The government will now only pay me about N$4 000, which is not even close to covering my losses. “I strongly believe the government should increase the compensation ...