By Staff Reporter
WINDHOEK
MEATCO, in collaboration with Green Scheme Project, the Ministry of Agriculture, Water and Forestry, the Meat Board of Namibia and the Namibia National Farmers Union intends to establish a cattle feedlot at Etunda.
The aim is to integrate the feedlot with the Etunda irrigation scheme development, says a statement from Meatco. After nearly two years of negotiations, Government finally approved both the Etunda Feedlot and Etunda Irrigation Scheme, with government investing N$25 million.
“This multi-million-dollar investment into Namibia’s Northern Communal Area (NCA) will not only ensure sustainable beef production, but also contribute improving living standards of communities,” Meatco says.
Meatco received approval from the Ministry of Agriculture, Water and Forestry (MAWF) on September 3, 2007 to develop phase 6 (150 hectares) and at a later stage move to phases 7 and 8 permanently.
The various stakeholders have identified the feedlot site, which will be built on a 27-hectare plot with enough additional room for future developments. Construction is scheduled to start early next year.
Meatco has applied through the Rural Poverty Reduction Program (RPRP) for donor funding to establish the feedlot at Etunda.
Parallel to that, to secure its own feed source, an irrigation project will also be established there.
The total funding from the RPRP for the feedlot development amounts to N$14.9million, while Meatco plans to borrow an additional N$11 million for the agronomic development.
The feedlot will also source fodder from the existing irrigation scheme of small-scale farmers and will supply them with manure from the feedlot for their irrigation lands.
According to Meatco’s Assistant Manager: NCA, Cyprianus Khaiseb, the community and in particular the farming community will greatly benefit from the project as it will create a new market for young animals.
“This means lower risk for farmers as they do not have to keep their young animals for long periods of time, while it ensures them cash payment on the spot when they sell their weaners to the feedlot.
“Furthermore, by establishing a feedlot, the pressure on grazing will be reduced and farmers can raise better quality animals because of the better carrying capacity of the land. This is beneficial for the ecology as well in the long run, as overgrazing and soil erosion can be reduced.”
The idea is to create a sustainable beef production and marketing channel for farmers in the Northern Communal Areas (NCA).
The feedlot will target weaners in the Kunene, North Central and the Kavango Regions. Theǟ