Agriculture adopts new 5-year plan
A major goal of the agriculture ministry's strategic plan is to achieve a 20% increase in food production.
The agriculture ministry last week launched a new five-year road map that addresses critical themes including the increase of production and productivity in mainstay areas the ministry is tasked to manage.
The strategic plan for 2017/2018 – 2021/2022 is a guiding framework that outlines programmes, projects and strategic objectives the ministry notes need to be “vigorously pursued in order for the ministry to deliver effective and efficient service to its customers.”
The five-year plan is aligned to national documents including the fifth National Development Plan and the Harambee Prosperity Plan.
A major goal of the plan is to achieve a decrease in food insecurity from 25% to 12%, a 20%increase in food production and for 100% of Namibian households to have improved access to safe drinking water from the current 91%, an executive summary of the framework, written by permanent secretary Percy Misika reads.
Five strategic pillars or themes underlined the development of the plan, including sustainable livestock and forest management, sustainable food production, value chain development and market-oriented infrastructure, water and sanitation infrastructure as well as operational excellence.
Agriculture minister Alpheus !Naruseb wrote in the introduction to the document that the process of developing the plan took into account the “internal environment of the ministry in terms of its own weaknesses, strengths as well as the external environment in respect of political, economic, sociological, technological, legal and environmental factors to identify opportunities and threats, which may have an impact on the ministry's performance.”
Challenges and successes
In a synopsis of the review of the previous five-year strategic plan, the ministry noted that the agriculture sector experienced a contraction of 1.7% in real terms.
“The outcome is a result of the effect of climate change and variability experienced during the period under review, and outbreaks of animal and plant diseases and pests.”
The prolonged drought for more than three consecutive seasons resulted in a drop of groundwater, dam and river levels. Consequently, despite the ministry drilling 685 boreholes, 218 were unsuccessful.
The forestry section was plagued by illegal logging.
The ministry acknowledged that it “operates in a very dynamic and volatile environment wherein climate and market conditions vary seasonally, which affect the performance of the sectors.”
Moreover, the continued export of livestock from Namibia “has affected throughput of local abattoirs and hence a decline in the sector growth.”
Nevertheless, the ministry produced foundation and certified seed from 233 tons for major staple grains, including pearl millet, sorghum and maize and leguminous crops, namely cow pea.
The total area under irrigation in Namibia increased by 800 hectares.
The market share of local horticultural produce increased from 39% to 44% during this period.
The ministry successfully negotiated market access for livestock products in Russia, Hong Kong, the United States and China.
Over the last five years, in the water and sanitation sector, the percentage of households with access to drinking water within a distance of 2.5 kilometres increased from 83% to 88%.
The construction of the Neckartal Dam started, and the ministry continued to coordinate the development of sanitation facilities with the aim of eliminating open defecation and the use of the bucket toilet system countrywide.
“In this regard a total of 3 433 rural sanitation facilities benefitting 7 076 households were constructed,” the ministry noted.
In the forestry sector, 2.5 million hectares of land was placed under forestry management.
A total of 19 536 kilometres of firebreaks were cleared and maintained for the purpose of controlling veld fires.
A total of 15 884 hectares were de-bushed. The ministry finalised and gazetted forestry regulations in addition to the development of the national strategy for optimisation of rangeland management and encroacher bush utilisation.
JANA-MARI SMITH
The strategic plan for 2017/2018 – 2021/2022 is a guiding framework that outlines programmes, projects and strategic objectives the ministry notes need to be “vigorously pursued in order for the ministry to deliver effective and efficient service to its customers.”
The five-year plan is aligned to national documents including the fifth National Development Plan and the Harambee Prosperity Plan.
A major goal of the plan is to achieve a decrease in food insecurity from 25% to 12%, a 20%increase in food production and for 100% of Namibian households to have improved access to safe drinking water from the current 91%, an executive summary of the framework, written by permanent secretary Percy Misika reads.
Five strategic pillars or themes underlined the development of the plan, including sustainable livestock and forest management, sustainable food production, value chain development and market-oriented infrastructure, water and sanitation infrastructure as well as operational excellence.
Agriculture minister Alpheus !Naruseb wrote in the introduction to the document that the process of developing the plan took into account the “internal environment of the ministry in terms of its own weaknesses, strengths as well as the external environment in respect of political, economic, sociological, technological, legal and environmental factors to identify opportunities and threats, which may have an impact on the ministry's performance.”
Challenges and successes
In a synopsis of the review of the previous five-year strategic plan, the ministry noted that the agriculture sector experienced a contraction of 1.7% in real terms.
“The outcome is a result of the effect of climate change and variability experienced during the period under review, and outbreaks of animal and plant diseases and pests.”
The prolonged drought for more than three consecutive seasons resulted in a drop of groundwater, dam and river levels. Consequently, despite the ministry drilling 685 boreholes, 218 were unsuccessful.
The forestry section was plagued by illegal logging.
The ministry acknowledged that it “operates in a very dynamic and volatile environment wherein climate and market conditions vary seasonally, which affect the performance of the sectors.”
Moreover, the continued export of livestock from Namibia “has affected throughput of local abattoirs and hence a decline in the sector growth.”
Nevertheless, the ministry produced foundation and certified seed from 233 tons for major staple grains, including pearl millet, sorghum and maize and leguminous crops, namely cow pea.
The total area under irrigation in Namibia increased by 800 hectares.
The market share of local horticultural produce increased from 39% to 44% during this period.
The ministry successfully negotiated market access for livestock products in Russia, Hong Kong, the United States and China.
Over the last five years, in the water and sanitation sector, the percentage of households with access to drinking water within a distance of 2.5 kilometres increased from 83% to 88%.
The construction of the Neckartal Dam started, and the ministry continued to coordinate the development of sanitation facilities with the aim of eliminating open defecation and the use of the bucket toilet system countrywide.
“In this regard a total of 3 433 rural sanitation facilities benefitting 7 076 households were constructed,” the ministry noted.
In the forestry sector, 2.5 million hectares of land was placed under forestry management.
A total of 19 536 kilometres of firebreaks were cleared and maintained for the purpose of controlling veld fires.
A total of 15 884 hectares were de-bushed. The ministry finalised and gazetted forestry regulations in addition to the development of the national strategy for optimisation of rangeland management and encroacher bush utilisation.
JANA-MARI SMITH
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