Kavango medium-scale farmers drowning in debt
Operations crippled
Farmers at the Sikondo Green Scheme say some face debts of up to N$800 000, with rising input costs and a lack of profits undermining their ability to contribute to food security.
Medium-scale farmers operating at the Sikondo Green Scheme in Kavango West say they are buried in debts of up to N$800,000 each, with rising production costs and lack of support leaving them unable to make a profit or contribute meaningfully to the country’s food security.
“There are some of us that owe commercial banks. We’ve accumulated debts of N$700 000 to N$800 000. We are unable to settle these because we’re not making any profit,” a farmer said, as others nodded in agreement.
He added: “Profit is number one. Food production is second. But how can we produce if the input costs are killing us?”
The farmers' concerns were revealed during Prime Minister Elijah Ngurare’s visit to the green scheme on Monday, as part of his broader inspection tour of development projects in the Kavango East and West regions.
Speaking as a group, with each farmer given a turn to voice their struggles, the growers painted a grim picture of life under what they described as a mismanaged and unsupported agricultural set-up.
The farmer shared a recent quotation for their next planting season, totalling N$468 000, just for seeds, chemicals and fertilisers.
“This is what’s stressing us. And that’s not even including electricity for irrigation.”
Not recognised, supported
While the scheme provides water for farming, the cost of electricity used to pump it to the plots is shared among farmers – often without transparency, they argued.
They also raised long-standing frustrations about not receiving salary increases since AgribusDev, the parastatal managing the scheme, took over several years ago.
“When we approach AgribusDev, they tell us we fall under the ministry. But when we go to the ministry, they say we belong to AgribusDev. We are stuck in the middle,” another farmer told the premier.
They further claimed their companies are not recognised when applying for loans. “We want to benefit. But when we go to banks, they say your company is not recognised. So we are in darkness,” one farmer lamented.
Troubles being addressed
Sikondo Green Scheme manager Maxwell Nghidinwa acknowledged the burden, particularly electricity costs, but said efforts are underway to fix the billing system.
“We’ve asked ministry engineers to help us find a fair and transparent way of measuring electricity use for irrigation. But yes, the cost is unbearable, and it’s killing profitability,” he said.
“If these farmers were operating at full capacity, their output combined with the commercial side could make a real impact on food production.”
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“There are some of us that owe commercial banks. We’ve accumulated debts of N$700 000 to N$800 000. We are unable to settle these because we’re not making any profit,” a farmer said, as others nodded in agreement.
He added: “Profit is number one. Food production is second. But how can we produce if the input costs are killing us?”
The farmers' concerns were revealed during Prime Minister Elijah Ngurare’s visit to the green scheme on Monday, as part of his broader inspection tour of development projects in the Kavango East and West regions.
Speaking as a group, with each farmer given a turn to voice their struggles, the growers painted a grim picture of life under what they described as a mismanaged and unsupported agricultural set-up.
The farmer shared a recent quotation for their next planting season, totalling N$468 000, just for seeds, chemicals and fertilisers.
“This is what’s stressing us. And that’s not even including electricity for irrigation.”
Not recognised, supported
While the scheme provides water for farming, the cost of electricity used to pump it to the plots is shared among farmers – often without transparency, they argued.
They also raised long-standing frustrations about not receiving salary increases since AgribusDev, the parastatal managing the scheme, took over several years ago.
“When we approach AgribusDev, they tell us we fall under the ministry. But when we go to the ministry, they say we belong to AgribusDev. We are stuck in the middle,” another farmer told the premier.
They further claimed their companies are not recognised when applying for loans. “We want to benefit. But when we go to banks, they say your company is not recognised. So we are in darkness,” one farmer lamented.
Troubles being addressed
Sikondo Green Scheme manager Maxwell Nghidinwa acknowledged the burden, particularly electricity costs, but said efforts are underway to fix the billing system.
“We’ve asked ministry engineers to help us find a fair and transparent way of measuring electricity use for irrigation. But yes, the cost is unbearable, and it’s killing profitability,” he said.
“If these farmers were operating at full capacity, their output combined with the commercial side could make a real impact on food production.”
[email protected]
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