South-West Africa

by William Eveleigh

As a stock-raising country South-West Africa has great possibilities. Dr. Rohrbach writes: “In spite of the varied nature of the land, from the Orange River in the south to the Kunene in the north, and from the Namib in the west to the Kalahari in the east, its vegetation and conformation are those of a sub-tropical steppe and grazing country, which is marked out by Nature herself for cattle raising.” Herr Hermann, in “Viehzucht und Bodenkultur in Deutsch Süd-West Africa” (1914), confirms this estimate, and states that “the whole country is open to cattle breeders. Every blade of grass, every leaf, every shoot possesses unusual nourishing properties. This is proved by the fat, good condition and strength of cattle, mules, horses, etc., fed on this dry but extraordinarily nourishing fodder, even after a ten months’ drought. One district is best for cattle breeding, another for small stock, and yet another for horse raising, but cattle can be bred everywhere, and even the most desolate, desert-like districts can be turned to account by grazing the cattle over a large area.”

After thorough examination of the territory Dr. Rohrbach estimated that the grazing land was equal in area to that of the German Empire in Europe, and capable of carrying 3,000,000 head of cattle and 2,000,000 sheep and goats.

But although large areas may be suitable for live stock it must be remembered that this does not by any means imply a large population. The pasturage is thin, droughts are frequent, and small farms are practically useless. A farm capable of giving any adequate return should be at least 20,000 acres in extent. Two or three white men on such a farm would be quite able to attend to the stock with the help of a few natives. South-West Africa is not a country for close settlement, and the efforts made to start settlers near the towns with small farms have not been attended with much success. An inquiring would-be colonist was told by the emigration department of the German Colonial Society that “in South-West Africa, which is chiefly suited for cattle breeding, at least £1,000 or £1,250 has hitherto been regarded as necessary.” It may be urged that Boer settlers with considerably less than £1,000 have found it profitable to take up farming in the country, but none the less the small farmer is not likely to find much success in the colony. When “carefully developed,” Dr. Rohrbach estimates that the country will be able to maintain a population of several hundred thousand European settlers, but in making this estimate Dr. Rohrbach would appear to be slightly infected with the rosy optimism of Herr Dernburg.

The Karakul fur industry is likely to prove an asset of increasing value. Karakul sheep, which supply the “Persian” lamb fur, or the curly black Karakul, were first imported into the country from Bokhara in 1907, and they have been bred on a Government farm near Windhoek with most satisfactory results.

The Karakul has been crossed with the Afrikander, and many thousands of the half-bred animals are now in existence. On the heights of Damaraland and Namaqualand the Karakuls find most congenial climatic conditions, and they seem to thrive on the pasturage of the country. Sample skins sent to Europe have sold for as much as £2; but it is stated that the industry can be carried on at a profit if the skins realise from 10s. to 15s. each. The mutton of these animals is of a superior kind.

It may be predicted with safety that frozen meat will be one of the chief exports in the coming years. Walvis Bay is comparatively near to Europe, and with a direct steamship service to British ports, it will be possible to establish a lucrative industry in slaughtered cattle and sheep. Germany was hoping to profit considerably by the development of the pastoral lands of the territory, but the stream will now be diverted to Great Britain and the Union of South Africa.

The third source of wealth is the agricultural lands. As already stated, there are only 13,000 acres under cultivation, and this fact is explained by the dryness of the climate. The rainfall is too scanty, and the soil of too sandy a nature, to permit of extensive cultivation without artificial aids. Much might be done by the introduction of improved methods of farming and by means of irrigation, since the soil is amazingly fertile. Dr. Rohrbach maintains that the land is much better and more fertile than most parts of Cape Colony.

The rich silt lands of the Kuisip River, and the alluvial loams of the Kuisip Valley, for instance, wait for exploitation by the man who will tap the underground stores of water and send them out over the fertile tracts. A good start has been made in this connection by some of the farmers in the northern districts, and further developments may be anticipated.

It is significant that owing to drought the crops of 1913 were a total failure, with the exception—and the exception is important—of those under irrigation. There should be no great difficulty in the way of developing the water supply, since the country seems to have a good supply of underground water. Even in the Kalahari nine artesian wells were struck last year by boring in the valley of the Auob River. Fresh boreholes have developed an ample supply for the town of Windhoek, with more than sufficient to meet the need for an underground drainage system. The two perennial streams of the country—the Kunene and the Orange—are of little economic value, since the channels are too deep to serve the purposes of extensive irrigation. According to the report made in 1913 of the irrigation possibilities along the banks of the Orange, by Mr. A. D. Lewis, the Government engineer, the irrigable patches found here and there on the northern bank are less than 3,000 morgen; there are about 4,000 morgen on the south bank. Until wells are dug, dams made, large irrigation works executed, and markets for produce opened up, agriculture will play only a subordinate part in South-West African industry, and the energies of the whites will be devoted to the exploitation of the mineral wealth and the raising of cattle and sheep.

The progress of the country has been retarded by a shortage of native labour. Some farmers affirm that they can make no progress whatever owing to the scarcity and unreliability of native workmen, but, as the ex-Consul shrewdly observes in his last Report on the Trade of German South-West Africa (1913), “As a rule a farmer who knows how to manage his servants and understands their limitations has no difficulty in getting his work done. On some farms there are sufficient labourers for every emergency, while on others there are a few dissatisfied servants, who take the first opportunity they can of changing their master.”