Farming is part of her DNA

Chicken farmer, nurse and lecturer, Ndasilohenda Katangolo-Nakashwa, was recently named the first female poultry farmer of the year.

"All I can say to young women with a passion for poultry is let us make agriculture our business. Start with what you have and grow from there. After all, eating is everyone's business and everyone has to eat," said the 37-year-old Katangolo-Nakashwa.

Her poultry business, Ndinandali Smartfarming, is located in the Omusimboti settlement outside Oshakati.

Woman in Agriculture Namibia (WIAN) launched the competition, which Katangolo-Nakashwa won, with the aim of recognising the achievements and contributions of women in farming in Namibia.

Passion sparked

Katangolo-Nakashwa was born in Swakopmund, and grew up with her late grandmother. She attended school in the Iikokola settlement in the Omusati Region.

"It was my grandmother who sparked the passion for poultry in me. Chickens are part of your life in an Oshiwambo household. If you go to visit and you don't get chicken to eat, then you don't really feel welcome. You don't really need to feed the chickens either, as the chickens that run around the settlements eat everything."

She also had agricultural studies till grade 12.

"Agriculture has always been part of my life."

After school, however, she went on to study nursing at the University of Namibia (Unam) and today she is a lecturer in the public health department at Unam's Oshakati campus.

Farmer

In 2017, she attended a farming course offered for free by Agribank.

Her husband, Jekonia, supported her financially to start her chicken farm.

"He helped me so that I could buy chicks and feed. We were living in Windhoek at the time, and he suggested we buy 50-day-old broilers.

"We kept the chicks in a tent in our garage and put in a small lamp for heat. We raised the chicks like this for a month. After a month, we took them to the Omusimboti settlement and raised them there. People quickly started buying the chickens, especially in bulk, such as for weddings. I then wanted to expand and bought day-old laying chicks, but I lost 20 of them – but I didn't give up. My original idea was to only produce eggs for our own household, but they quickly became too much for us. We first gave the eggs to the neighbours and later started selling them," she said.

Rewarding work

"We increased the laying hens to a manageable number in terms of feed and space for the chickens to stay, while we wanted to meet the demand for eggs in the settlement, and that is where I am now. I make 20 boxes a week with 30 eggs each."

Katangolo-Nakashwa currently has 300 chickens. According to her, poultry farming is relatively easy.

"You just have to keep the chicken coop clean as well as their feed and water bowls. You have to make sure they have enough food and water. You must also take care of their health and give them medicine."

"My husband and I are also vegetable farmers who grow corn, tomatoes, sweet potatoes, spinach, butternut squash, and green peppers. However, we really love poultry farming, because chickens are easy to keep and grow quickly."

Award

WIAN launched the competition for women poultry farmers, and Feedmaster Namibia supported the competition.

"Winning is exciting and overwhelming, but because I am a communal farmer, I can show people in the settlement how farming can generate an income for them. In the future, I want to expand my poultry farming and share my knowledge with other farmers. I provide free basic mentoring for women interested in agriculture or poultry farming. I would like to see more women in agriculture in the future and see them flourish."

She adds: "To every woman out there, I say, find your passion. It doesn't have to be poultry, agriculture or farming, but find your passion and do it. If it is to farm, go visit farms, find a mentor, look for other people with the same passion and ask for help. Ask for help, whether it's technical help, advice, or financial help. Ask."