- – This from over 900 pending claims
Over nine hundred farmers in the Okavango District are said to be awaiting compensation payments amounting to more than P5.6 million, as persistent human-wildlife conflict continues to severely devastate crops, destroy livestock, and undermine household livelihoods across the region.
As human-wildlife conflict remains one of the biggest threats facing farmers in the Okavango District, with hundreds of compensation claims still pending, many families are left exposed to ongoing food insecurity and financial hardship.
This was revealed by Okavango District Council Deputy Chairman Brian Samoka during a full council session earlier this week, who described human-wildlife conflict as one of the biggest challenges affecting farming communities in the district.
“Wildlife continues to destroy crops, damage infrastructure, and kill livestock, thereby negatively affecting household incomes, food security, and community welfare,” he further said.
When delivering his speech, Samoka revealed that the government allocated P5 million for compensation during the 2025/2026 financial year, but the entire budget was exhausted because of the high number of reported incidents.
“In the last quarter alone, a total of 646 farmers were compensated at an amount exceeding P1.4 million,” he said.
Despite the intervention, approximately 930 compensation claims worth more than P5.6 million are still pending in the district.
The deputy chairman further noted that farmers were also battling challenges caused by heavy rains, flooding, and wildlife disturbances during the previous ploughing season. However, despite the difficult conditions, more than 9,000 hectares were cultivated in the district.
The district leadership has since recommended the expansion of the programme to additional areas so that more communities affected by human-wildlife conflict can benefit.
Meanwhile, Samoka appreciated that the government has introduced an Agricultural Hunting Quota initiative aimed at reducing human-wildlife conflict while promoting conservation and community development.
“This is to help address human-wildlife conflict while supporting conservation efforts,” he added.
Samoka indicated that the Ngamiland Concession Area Number 8 (NG8), which includes Gumare, Tubu, Habu, Nokaneng, and Danega, had been allocated a quota of nine elephants.
He indicated that the revenue generated from the initiative is expected to support projects such as the fencing of agricultural fields, drilling of boreholes, water reticulation, maintenance of buffalo fences, agricultural access roads, and job creation initiatives.
“I am further informed that the sale of the 2026 Agricultural Hunting Quota generated revenue amounting to approximately P2.25 million,” said Samoka. He further added that the funds have been equally distributed among the five beneficiary villages, with each village receiving P450,000.
