Another bumper harvest for Lameck
KENYA KAMBOWE
OUPILI
Anna-Nora Lameck has once again defied the odds by achieving her goal of a bumper harvest of mahangu at Oupili village in the Ohangwena Region.
Ewi lyaNooli has been reporting on Lameck (64) since 2018 and she has had one umper harvest after another.
With subsistence farmers busy harvesting their crops, Ewi lyaNooli visited Lameck this month to see how her mahangu harvest was going.
Given the good rains early this year, her harvest has exceeded those of previous years.
Lameck sells her produce to local people and to the government through the Agro-Marketing and Trade Agency (AMTA).
She believes that people should not wait for the government to help them but rather try by all means to do what they can.
“My objective has not changed since you started coming here back in 2018; the aim is to feed the nation and I am doing that,” Lameck said.
“That time, the rain was a bit of a challenge but now it has improved, which means we can reap what we sowed.”
“We had no rain for some time and I decided that we were going to water the crops, however three days later the rain returned and the crops blossomed,” she explained.
Retired but busy
Lameck used to work as a communications officer at Namdeb before retiring.
While other retirees would prefer to stay home and enjoy their pension, Lameck wanted to become a full-time farmer and contribute to the economy.
She used her pension to upgrade her farm. She built an access road from the main road to her field, and has a solar-powered borehole which she shares with the rest of the community.
Lameck says she almost sold the plot many years ago because of the challenge of reaching the remote village without a car of her own.
“I remember there was a time I was coming to this plot and I was in the back of a truck which had goats in it and it was raining. At that point I decided that it was it, but fortunately a friend of mine advised me well and I am thankful that I did not sell this land. I have my own car now, which makes things easier for me,” Lameck said back in 2018.
Going forward
Besides crop farming, Lameck has also ventured into poultry and other livestock.
She has a variety of chicken breeds, of which many are rare in the northern parts of the country.
Lameck also has cows, goats, sheep and pigs, and wants to expand her livestock farming.
Encouragement
“In times like these when we are blessed with rain, the government should encourage people to work in their fields. People must work for themselves and that is how you fight poverty.
“The criteria for the recipients of drought relief must be reviewed because there are people out there who just do not want to work in the fields because they can rely on handouts,” she said.
[email protected]
OUPILI
Anna-Nora Lameck has once again defied the odds by achieving her goal of a bumper harvest of mahangu at Oupili village in the Ohangwena Region.
Ewi lyaNooli has been reporting on Lameck (64) since 2018 and she has had one umper harvest after another.
With subsistence farmers busy harvesting their crops, Ewi lyaNooli visited Lameck this month to see how her mahangu harvest was going.
Given the good rains early this year, her harvest has exceeded those of previous years.
Lameck sells her produce to local people and to the government through the Agro-Marketing and Trade Agency (AMTA).
She believes that people should not wait for the government to help them but rather try by all means to do what they can.
“My objective has not changed since you started coming here back in 2018; the aim is to feed the nation and I am doing that,” Lameck said.
“That time, the rain was a bit of a challenge but now it has improved, which means we can reap what we sowed.”
“We had no rain for some time and I decided that we were going to water the crops, however three days later the rain returned and the crops blossomed,” she explained.
Retired but busy
Lameck used to work as a communications officer at Namdeb before retiring.
While other retirees would prefer to stay home and enjoy their pension, Lameck wanted to become a full-time farmer and contribute to the economy.
She used her pension to upgrade her farm. She built an access road from the main road to her field, and has a solar-powered borehole which she shares with the rest of the community.
Lameck says she almost sold the plot many years ago because of the challenge of reaching the remote village without a car of her own.
“I remember there was a time I was coming to this plot and I was in the back of a truck which had goats in it and it was raining. At that point I decided that it was it, but fortunately a friend of mine advised me well and I am thankful that I did not sell this land. I have my own car now, which makes things easier for me,” Lameck said back in 2018.
Going forward
Besides crop farming, Lameck has also ventured into poultry and other livestock.
She has a variety of chicken breeds, of which many are rare in the northern parts of the country.
Lameck also has cows, goats, sheep and pigs, and wants to expand her livestock farming.
Encouragement
“In times like these when we are blessed with rain, the government should encourage people to work in their fields. People must work for themselves and that is how you fight poverty.
“The criteria for the recipients of drought relief must be reviewed because there are people out there who just do not want to work in the fields because they can rely on handouts,” she said.
[email protected]
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