Windhoek
An urgent call for unity among communal farmers rang out loud and clear from the Windhoek Show Grounds when Speaker of the National Assembly and patron of the Ongombe Farmers Association, Prof Peter Katjavivi, officially opened the 27th Okamatapati Show on Friday.
He urged communal and emerging farmers’ associations to adopt a robust agenda of unity to form a unified marketing committee, which could regulate the pricing of livestock in communal areas and to better serve farmers by providing better prices for their livestock.
Katjavivi applauded emerging farmers for making great strides over the years and said this was indeed a very important development for the country as it represents a crucial step in enhancing Namibia’s agricultural sector as well as the nation’s food security potential.
But he also reminded the audience that Namibian farmers are faced with various challenges such as persistent drought and unpredictable flash floods in certain areas of the country.
“Government has favourably responded to the plea of our farmers and provided incentives in this regard, especially to those who market their livestock.”
Katjavivi told the gathering that it is a reality that game meat from Namibia is ranked very highly globally because of its quality and its lack of genetically modified organisms.
“However, our emerging farmers are yet to make serious inroads in the area of game ranching. Since game meat sells highly and game have proven to be more resistant to drought, for those who have adequate land I would urge you also to explore game ranching. Ranch game can act as a buffer during times of heavy livestock losses as a result of persistent drought,” he informed.
He urged the government to intensify animal disease control measures to improve the accessibility of Namibian beef and game products onto international markets.
“We hope that the recently opened Chinese market to Namibian beef and meat products will greatly benefit many of our emerging farmers within the supply chain. This will be important because the emerging farmers are the majority of the primary producers,” he said.
“I want to take this opportunity to encourage the business community to become enthusiastic about financially and logistically supporting agricultural shows. The business community should partner with the farming community. In most of the instances, the farmers too are business personalities and because of these linkages it even provides a good communication channel for the two entities to work together for the common good of our communities and the country at large.”