By:Flora Katutiramambo
Officials from the Ministry of Agriculture, Water ans Land Reform has embarked on a learning trip to India, especially for millet seed improvement,to boost food security in the country.
As part of the trip to that southern Asia country,the delegation will visit the award-winning International Crop Research Institute for the Semi-Arid Tropics (ICRISAT).
India is the largest producer of millet as of 2021, with a total share of 41%.It is also second-largest exporter of millet.

The country’s export of millets wasUSD64 million in 2021-22. There is an increase in export of Millets by 12.5 % during the period April-December 2023 as compared to the same period last year.
India’s two varieties of millets namely pearl millet and sorghum together contributed about 19% in world production in 2020.
“Namibia can learn a lot from India to improve yield through the development of new varieties, setting up of an effective seed system, and creating markets for pearl millet which will contribute a lot to the food production,” said Jona Musheko, the spokesperson of the Ministry of Agriculture.
Musheko said the Ministry’s researchers who travelled to India are experts in agricultural production, and any information they get there would be applied in Namibia.
He added that the purpose of the research is for Namibia to test out new seeds and kinds that may be obtained from other nations, such as India.
“The focus of the project on pearl millet is that the team is to learn about issues related to different varieties and hybrids of pearl millet that they have to bring here in the country and learn from them as well as the methodologies. They will bring them what they have learned and find out whether they are compatible with Namibia’s climate,” he said.
The visit comes as Namibia is planning to construct three new seed processing plants in Zambezi, Kavango East and Oshikoto regions.
Musheko pointed out that Namibia has to discover what else farmers may obtain from pearl millet (mahangu) outside the conventional pap.
“In India for example they produce snacks, biscuits, and millet milk. So we can find ways on what else this pearl can be used.”
The agricultural ministry is now working on a project called the Namibia Agricultural Mechanisation and Seed Improvement Project (NAMSIP), which was co-founded with a loan from the African Development Bank.
As part of this project, the Ministry has issued a call for bids for the design and building of the monitored seed processing plants in the Zambezi, Kavango West, Oshikoto, and Omusati regions..
Musheko stated that if Namibia obtains pearl millet from India, a trial would be conducted in one specific region to determine if it is prospering well.
“Wherever the seeds have been tested and there is good improvement, that’s where the seeds are to go.”
Through the supply of seeds, the Ministry has created temporary employment for 4,519 Namibians.
The development comes as production for white maize, millet, and wheat declined by 60.1% from 55,036 tonnes recorded in the second quarter of 2022 to 21,953 tonnes registered in the second quarter of 2023.
Furthermore, the Namibia Statistics Agency (NSA) has reported that the import bill for the second quarter of 2023 amounted to N$299.2 million from N$471.3 million registered in the corresponding quarter of 2022.
“During the quarter under review, the import bill of cereal grains was dominated by wheat (N$171.9 million), followed by maize (N$121.2 million), and rice (N$3.3 million),” NSA CEO Alex Shimuafeni said.
Imported cereal grains were mainly sourced from South Africa (N$155.0 million) and Poland (N$142.0 million), representing shares of 51.8 % and 47.5%, respectively.
Meanwhile, N$15.6 thousand worth of agronomy products were exported in the second quarter of 2023. The export earnings recorded for the quarter under review were solely from white maize.