!Naruseb cracks whip on grain imports
It is unacceptable that Namibia continues to import over 50% of its maize and 80% of its wheat to supplement domestic shortages.
This is according to agriculture minister Alpheus !Naruseb who added this is an unhealthy situation for the national agenda and food security.
Speaking at AgriBusDev's annual general meeting last week at which the company's annual report for the year ended 31 March 2017 was presented, !Naruseb said notable progress could be seen, including putting in place a sound governance structure at the public enterprise.
He applauded the company for the significant improvement in turnover, with a 73.4% growth being recorded for the period under review.
!Naruseb said it was observed that the output for staple food, particularly maize and wheat, had decreased due to the impact of the invasion of fall armyworms on the maize crop and the huge costs involved in transporting wheat, particularly from small-scale farmers, to the market.
!Naruseb therefore directed the board to identify appropriate crops that can be fully integrated into the crop rotation system at all farms.
He also called for the intercropping of maize with other crops that are not good hosts to fall armyworms.
“I strongly believe that by adopting some of these measures we can break the lifecycle of these worms, thereby mitigating the situation.”
He said further to that the ongoing construction of the wheat milling plant at the Shadikongoro green must be completed by at least the first quarter of the 2018/19 financial year. “Once this is completed farms particularly small-scale farmers in the northern areas would have access to the market at their doorsteps. This would consequently stimulate the production of wheat.”
!Naruseb said the fact that Namibia continues to import over 50% of its maize and 80% of its wheat to fill the gap in the domestic production system does not present a healthy situation. He said to address this situation, investment needs to be mobilised in order to develop more irrigation-based projects. “It remain our collective responsibility as a government, private entities and individuals alike to mobilise the required investment in the order to transform approximately 15 000 hectares into irrigation-based production between now and the year 2030. Doing so would enable us to reach our target of putting 27 000 hectares under irrigation as per our Vision 2030 target.”
!Naruseb added investment opportunities into the country's green schemes are available at Kavango West, Katima/Liselo in the Zambezi Region and Neckartal and Tandjieskoppe in the //Karas Region. “The call for the expression of interest shall be running sometime this year. At the moment we are awaiting for the clearance of these projects by the ministry of finance since our intention is to develop them on a public-private partnership basis.”
According to !Naruseb apart from mobilising the required investment, in order to succeed in putting the 27 000 hectares under production, more arable land also has to be availed.
ELLANIE SMIT
This is according to agriculture minister Alpheus !Naruseb who added this is an unhealthy situation for the national agenda and food security.
Speaking at AgriBusDev's annual general meeting last week at which the company's annual report for the year ended 31 March 2017 was presented, !Naruseb said notable progress could be seen, including putting in place a sound governance structure at the public enterprise.
He applauded the company for the significant improvement in turnover, with a 73.4% growth being recorded for the period under review.
!Naruseb said it was observed that the output for staple food, particularly maize and wheat, had decreased due to the impact of the invasion of fall armyworms on the maize crop and the huge costs involved in transporting wheat, particularly from small-scale farmers, to the market.
!Naruseb therefore directed the board to identify appropriate crops that can be fully integrated into the crop rotation system at all farms.
He also called for the intercropping of maize with other crops that are not good hosts to fall armyworms.
“I strongly believe that by adopting some of these measures we can break the lifecycle of these worms, thereby mitigating the situation.”
He said further to that the ongoing construction of the wheat milling plant at the Shadikongoro green must be completed by at least the first quarter of the 2018/19 financial year. “Once this is completed farms particularly small-scale farmers in the northern areas would have access to the market at their doorsteps. This would consequently stimulate the production of wheat.”
!Naruseb said the fact that Namibia continues to import over 50% of its maize and 80% of its wheat to fill the gap in the domestic production system does not present a healthy situation. He said to address this situation, investment needs to be mobilised in order to develop more irrigation-based projects. “It remain our collective responsibility as a government, private entities and individuals alike to mobilise the required investment in the order to transform approximately 15 000 hectares into irrigation-based production between now and the year 2030. Doing so would enable us to reach our target of putting 27 000 hectares under irrigation as per our Vision 2030 target.”
!Naruseb added investment opportunities into the country's green schemes are available at Kavango West, Katima/Liselo in the Zambezi Region and Neckartal and Tandjieskoppe in the //Karas Region. “The call for the expression of interest shall be running sometime this year. At the moment we are awaiting for the clearance of these projects by the ministry of finance since our intention is to develop them on a public-private partnership basis.”
According to !Naruseb apart from mobilising the required investment, in order to succeed in putting the 27 000 hectares under production, more arable land also has to be availed.
ELLANIE SMIT
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