Namibian livestock farmers have been advised to reduce their livestock to avoid losing them to the foreseen dry season of the El Nino phenomenon.

The call was made by two of the country's biggest farmers' unions, the Namibia Agricultural Union (NAU) and the Namibia National Farmers Union (NNFU).

The call for de-stocking comes after the UN's Food and Agricultural Organisation (FAO) released a report forecasting the prevalence of the El Nino phenomenon, expected next month.

The Livestock Producers Organization has expressed dismay at media reports accusing "white commercial farmers" of wanting to see the demise of MeatCo.

The organization has called for an urgent investigation into these allegations.

The Livestock Producers Organisation is an affiliate member of the Namibia Agricultural Union, which is considered the country's white-dominated farmers union.

The Namibia Agricultural Union has described the year 2022 as having been a good one in terms of both livestock and crop production.

It says these good results give hope to farmers in the commercial sector to even do better next year.

As the year 2022 wound up, farmers were starting to count their earnings and losses, as well as looking into the future in anticipation.

The Namibia Agricultural Union Executive Manager Roelie Venter says both the cattle and goat segments of the agriculture sector have been going through a rebuilding phase since the drought of 2019.