Agri

Meatco reverts to old pricing method

WINDHOEK - NAMPA
Namibia’s biggest exporter of prime beef will once again use a method, employed prior to the implementation of the AGA, to determine the prices of its differently graded meat.
FILE

Meatco announced that it was forced to cancel the Age Gap Adjustment (AGA) until further notice due to exceptional factors in the South African market which have a sig¬nificant impact on its producer price.

“Due to the low margins result¬ing from the static South African retail prices and high A-grade prices (and resultant high AB, B and C-prices), the AGA has be¬come economically unviable and will be excluded from the pricing formula from October 1, 2012. Read more about Meatco reverts to old pricing method

Government to earn N$80 a year from farm tax

WINDHOEK - FRED GOEIEMAN
A total of 12 882 commercial farms from the Kunene, Oshikoto, Otjozondjupa, Erongo, Khomas, Hardap, Omaheke and Karas regions have been valued as part of the provisional valuation roll for commercial farms in Namibia.
FRED GOEIEMAN

The country’s third valuation roll for commercial farms in Namibia is set to rake in N$80 million a year for Government over the next five years. Since 2004, N$200 million has been collected through the taxation of commercial agricultural land.

The money collected is used to acquire land for the resettlement of previously disadvantaged Namibians, as well as to develop and improve commercial agricultural farming. Read more about Government to earn N$80 a year from farm tax

Agriculture congress next week

WINDHOEK - NAMPA
The Livestock Producers’ Organisation (LPO) will hold their congress in Windhoek from October 9 to 10 under the theme ‘Animal health status for economic growth - Namibian situation?’.
NAMPA

According to an invite to the event, the guest speaker will be Dr Gideon Brückner, who is the head of the Scientific and Technical Department of the World Organisation for Animal Health (OIE). Read more about Agriculture congress next week

Welwitschia Mirabilis - A botanical wonder

Stamps and Stories
Jonathan Basson

Home to the ancient Namib Desert, Namibia is known for the unusual and the mysterious. Myriad desert-adapted creatures and plants have evolved over the aeons, showing remarkable ingenuity, to survive in an arid environment.

Although seemingly desolate, on closer inspection the desert expanse is alive with life, from fog-basking beetles and dancing spiders to the larger animals like blackbacked jackal, springbok and oryx. Read more about Welwitschia Mirabilis - A botanical wonder

New Forestry law coming

WINDHOEK - NAMPA
Forestry laws dealing with the control and management of bush fires and the preservation of trees, will soon become legislation in Namibia.

Amendments to the regulations of the Forestry Act of 2001 are in the final stages, the Director of Forestry in the Ministry of Agriculture, Water and Forestry (MAWF) Joseph Hailwa said this week. Read more about New Forestry law coming

Rethink dam projects

WINDHOEK - NAMPA
A study by a reputable hydrologist has warned that as electricity demands grow, dams in the Zambezi basin will be unable to meet energy needs or control floods.
File

Large dams are being built or proposed without analysis of the risks of hydrological variability, that are already a hallmark of African weather patterns - much less the medium and long-term impacts expected from climate change. Read more about Rethink dam projects

Farmers to benefit from Swakara Scheme

WINDHOEK - NAMPA
Aspiring small-livestock farmers in communal areas are set to benefit from the proceeds of a Government initiative intended to increase the Swakara sheep population in southern Namibia.
NAMPA

Farmers from communal areas, including those resettled in the Rehoboth District, stand to benefit from the Swakara Support Scheme, which offers sheep at subsidised prices and training in the management of Swakara sheep.

The Swakara Support Scheme was designed by the Ministry of Agriculture, Water and Forestry (MAWF) through its Division: Livestock Research, in conjunction with other stakeholders to increase the Swakara sheep population and pelt output in Namibia. Read more about Farmers to benefit from Swakara Scheme

Govt committed amibia to agriculture

WINDHOEK - NAMPA
The Government is irrevocably committed to providing the enabling environment for the implementation of agricultural programmes.

Government will continue to strengthen capacity-building programmes through the provision of farmer practices that will make Namibia’s agricultural sector efficient, productive, competitive and sustainable.

Agriculture, Water and Forestry Minister John Mutorwa made this pledge this week during the second day of an international conference on sustainable land and natural resources taking place in Windhoek. Read more about Govt committed amibia to agriculture

Sociable weavers - master thatchers of namibia

Stamps and stories
Gondwana Collection

While modern-day humankind has only recently become wise to green-building, utilising natural elements and efficient construction to cool and warm the home, the animal world evolved highly effective practical solutions to homebuilding a long time ago.

Insects like termites construct long ventilation tunnels to regulate temperature and in the avian world, sociable weavers (versamelvöel in Afrikaans) construct gigantic thatch communal homes to keep them cool in the scorching summer heat and warm in the winter chill. Read more about Sociable weavers - master thatchers of namibia

Rural sanitation a big challenge – Mutorwa

WINDHOEK - NAMPA
Very few rural people have access to household sanitation in Namibia, while an investigation has showed that major components of water infrastructure systems in Namibia have reached the end of their lifetime.
NAMPA

Minister of Agriculture, Water and Forestry John Mutorwa says the provision of sanitation services in rural areas poses a big challenge for Government. Read more about Rural sanitation a big challenge – Mutorwa

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