Namibian small livestock market created in China
Agreement with China signed in May
Farmers with means of transport and the right connections are able to trade small livestock beyond Namibia's borders.
Agriculture minister Inge Zaamwani has revealed that Namibia and China have signed an agreement to trade in small livestock, creating a new market for Namibian farmers who have endured years of accumulating animals due to the lack of a viable market.
Zaamwani made the remark last Thursday during an event at Ongwediva when she responded to concerns raised by Namibia National Farmers Union (NNFU) treasurer Tomas Kalimbo on the matter.
Kalimbo had alleged that there was no market for small livestock such as goats and sheep, resulting in farmers owning hundreds or thousands of animals with no buyers.
Currently, farmers with means of transport and the right connections are able to trade small livestock beyond Namibia’s borders.
However, many are left with animals on their farms and only slaughter them for braais, events, or give them away as contributions to weddings and funerals.
Hence, he called on Zaamwani to address the issue.
Agreement between Namibia and China
However, while Kalimbo was still on the podium, Zaamwani interrupted him, stating that it was not true that the market did not exist, as there had been an agreement between Namibia and China for the export of small livestock.
“We just signed an agreement with China. The agreement was signed in May, so there are some logistical issues, and the technical people will know what is to be done before we start exporting,” Zaamwani said.
Kalimbo thanked the minister for the information, but pointed out that agreements are often signed without timely implementation.
“We appreciate that, minister. I think many a time it is just the issue of implementation that takes longer than anticipated, and that’s the issue we need to work on—the bottleneck in terms of finalising this,” Kalimbo said.
Price discrimination
Meanwhile, Kalimbo expressed a number of concerns to Zaamwani which he wants the ministry to address.
Kalimbo spoke about the Northern Communal Areas (NCA) Equalisation Fund, which he said needs to be implemented to end price discrimination for livestock sold to Meatco on either side of the northern cordoned fence (Redline).
“We are aware that Cabinet has approved the Northern Communal Areas (NCA) Equalisation Fund, which was supposed to start in June 2025. Since the agriculture ministry is hosting this budget, we kindly urge that the fund be operationalized without any further delay.”
Another issue raised was the management of auction kraals, which Kalimbo said is currently handled by individuals rather than organisations like the NNFU, which represents a large number of farmers.
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Zaamwani made the remark last Thursday during an event at Ongwediva when she responded to concerns raised by Namibia National Farmers Union (NNFU) treasurer Tomas Kalimbo on the matter.
Kalimbo had alleged that there was no market for small livestock such as goats and sheep, resulting in farmers owning hundreds or thousands of animals with no buyers.
Currently, farmers with means of transport and the right connections are able to trade small livestock beyond Namibia’s borders.
However, many are left with animals on their farms and only slaughter them for braais, events, or give them away as contributions to weddings and funerals.
Hence, he called on Zaamwani to address the issue.
Agreement between Namibia and China
However, while Kalimbo was still on the podium, Zaamwani interrupted him, stating that it was not true that the market did not exist, as there had been an agreement between Namibia and China for the export of small livestock.
“We just signed an agreement with China. The agreement was signed in May, so there are some logistical issues, and the technical people will know what is to be done before we start exporting,” Zaamwani said.
Kalimbo thanked the minister for the information, but pointed out that agreements are often signed without timely implementation.
“We appreciate that, minister. I think many a time it is just the issue of implementation that takes longer than anticipated, and that’s the issue we need to work on—the bottleneck in terms of finalising this,” Kalimbo said.
Price discrimination
Meanwhile, Kalimbo expressed a number of concerns to Zaamwani which he wants the ministry to address.
Kalimbo spoke about the Northern Communal Areas (NCA) Equalisation Fund, which he said needs to be implemented to end price discrimination for livestock sold to Meatco on either side of the northern cordoned fence (Redline).
“We are aware that Cabinet has approved the Northern Communal Areas (NCA) Equalisation Fund, which was supposed to start in June 2025. Since the agriculture ministry is hosting this budget, we kindly urge that the fund be operationalized without any further delay.”
Another issue raised was the management of auction kraals, which Kalimbo said is currently handled by individuals rather than organisations like the NNFU, which represents a large number of farmers.
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