The Namibia’s grape producers along the Orange River in the Karas region say the harvest has shown to yield stable volumes despite the country experiencing a stubborn drought for the past six years.
Noordoewer Sonop Agro Producers – Makalane Grapes director Nico van der Merwe stated that they are still producing grapes despite the drought – given that their farms are situated in a semi-dessert area. Van der Merwe: “As long as the Orange River catchment area is receiving good rain, then we are fine to survive this season.”
Referring to the expected yield of harvesting for this season, van der Merwe told New Era Live they envisage to produce 7.3 million cartons of top-quality grapes weighing 4.5kg each.
He further emphasised that the first grapes for this season were harvested during mid-October this year, whilst the first consignment was exported to the European Union markets during the second week last month.
Van der Merwe then elaborated that the decline in water levels of the Orange River is becoming a huge concern for them, since they heavily depend on water being pumped to the farms from the river: “We (Namibia Grape Growers Association) are, however, working closely with the agricultural ministry to monitor the levels and communicate pro-actively.”
When probed on the previous living conditions of workers living in reed houses with no ablution facilities, van der Merwe responded there is a slight improvement in the living condition of the workers, but that it is still far from the desired standards.
