Characterizing Namibian Rainfall for Agricultural Purposes

Namibia is probably the driest country in Sub-Saharan Africa with a mean annual rainfall of ±270 mm. It is therefore critically important that the rainfall should be characterized in such a manner that it is useful for agricultural purposes. This includes bureaucrats like planners, researchers, and extension officers as well as agribusiness and as well as commercial and subsistence farmers. There are also strongly held beliefs about the rainfall, which had to be tested by analysis and thus proven or disproved. In this paper the characteristics of annual, seasonal and monthly rainfall will be given. Beliefs that were tested was (a) that the country has a so-called “kleine regenzeit”(short rains) and a “grosse regenzeit”(long rains); (b) that the rainfall has been decreasing during the past half-century and (c) that the amount of rainfall in early rainy season was correlated with that during the main growing season. Further the characteristics of monthly, seasonal and annual rainfall is described and related to Namibian agriculture.