Juliana Iikela

Namibia needs to invest more in more crop agriculture in the next five years, said Namibia Agronomic (NAB) Board CEO Fidelis Mwazi on Wednesday.

Dr Mwazi made these remarks as the NAB hosted anNational Agronomy and Horticulre Awards 2022 ceremony at Grootfontein in the Otjozondjupa region to promote growth in the crop value chains as a guarantee for economic growth, employment creation and poverty eradication.

 

The event was attended by, among others, the mayor of Grootfontein Talitha Garises, NAB board chairperson Michael Iyambo, NAB birectors, NAB CEO Fedelis Mwazi and his mamagement team, Afgribank CEO Dr Raphael Karuaihe, producers, traders and processors in the country.

 

Each year, the NAB honours outstanding horticulture industry producers and traders at this prestigious event. The event aims to publicly recognise the hard work, innovation and ingenuity of horticulture producers and traders in their efforts to provide the Namibian market with locally produced fresh fruit and vegetables.

 

Otjozondjupa region lies at the centre of a highly potential agricultural area of the country, which flourishes in both livestock and crop farming.

Quoting from former US President, John Kennedy, who said that,“If the agricultural economy collapses, then the whole economy sooner or later will collapse as well,” Dr Mwazi if this happens to the Namibian agricultural sector there will be a lot of chaos in terms of people looking for food, which will leave people saying that the government does not give them enough food, and job creation will be lost.

According to the Board, retailers and importing agents have spent N$138 million in the 2020/21 financial year, which is about N$18 million more than the N$120 they spent in 2019/2020 for the same products. Imported apples stood at N$105 million, bananas at N$46 million, oranges at N$31 million, onions at N$27 million, avocados at N$25 million, and grapes at N$24 million.

Meanwhile, grapes were Namibia’s most exported agricultural product in the2020/21 financial year amounting to N$857 million. Dates were exported at N$92 million, onions at N$24 million, tomatoes N$19 million, blueberries at N$9 million, sweet melons atN$ 6 million, and living Butternuts at the value of N$4 million.

Namibians consumed potatoes the most (2020/21) at N$95 million, with tomatoes coming in second at N$34 million, carrots at N$31 million, English cucumber N$30 million, onions at N$24 million, cabbage at N$20 million, and living mushroom at the value of N$ 13 million.

According to Mwazi, horticulture primary market share promotion (MSP) increased from 37% in the year 2019/2020 to 45% in 2021/2022. The number of special controlled products was increased from 15 to 19 product lines. Horticulture exports increased by 16% since 2019/2020, while grain self-sufficiency increased from 10% in 2019/2020 to 32% in 2021/2022. He further said a fruit development scheme was established as part of developing the five-year crop value chain strategy and implementation plan.

According to the CEO, Namibia has the opportunity to irrigate its land within the crop sector.

He further said the Board has zones in the country, which they use to establish which crops are suitable for each zone.

“Agriculture is one of the sectors that provide jobs. With one hectare of tomato production, you might have two to three people that will be working on it; when multiplied that means more jobs are created. The sector needs to work and be at the same level as other countries so that they are not left behind,” Mwazi said.

Speaking at the same event, Agribank manager for Otjeroku branch Wylie Upi stated that farmers should know that the bank is a state-owned enterprise with a mandate to promote the growth and development of agriculture through affordable and innovative financing especially for crop and livestock farmers.

Upi encouraged crop farmers to use various offers from the bank.

Michael Iyambo, NAB chairperson said that the Otjozondjupa regioncontributes about 25% of the total production of the country, saying this is mainly due to fertile land, facilities and water availability, and patterns of rainfallin the region.

Otjozondjupa is the fourth largest region in the country with a total surface area of 105,460 km², which represents about 7.8% of the total Namibia area.