WINDHOEK – Namibian farmers need to strengthen their focus on improving productivity of their farm operations. This should of course be supported by adequate investments in technology, infrastructure and production. In reaffirming the commitment of his Foundation to Agriculture, Bill Gates, once said that spending on Agriculture is a wise investment is it continues long after you have contributed.
Farming in Namibia continues to be challenging to many farmers more especially the part-time group and this is attributed by inter alia inadequate investments in their operations. Ad hoc investment does not sustainably improve farming production. Studies have shown that the severance of drought is much felt by small-scale farmers and those not investing enough in their farm production. Namibia drought occurrence has become more frequent in the last decade and one needs to be prepared at all times to minimise the impact.
This is the motivation with which the newly appointed Standard Bank Namibia’s Head of Agriculture Gerhard Mukuahima is encouraging farmers on agricultural investments in the country.
As a country, I believe, we have the capacity to produce our own food and ultimately alleviate poverty and improve nutrition however stakeholder’s involvement is very critical. Bulks of the Namibian farmers are making use of their monthly salaries to subsidise their farming operations and as a result the entire sector is impacted. A salary alone cannot get you to where you want to go as far as farming is concerned.
I therefore advise farmers to focus on the bigger picture when running their farming businesses in order to enjoy a fruitful outcome of their farming operations.
Re-assess or define what you want to achieve with your farming business, where do you see yourself moving forward and how much risk are you prepared to take to succeed. Think about of the bigger picture and have a bank as partner in reaching your goals.
Nowadays, the general perception is that people want to farm to satisfy themselves domestically, however the main aim should be on feeding the nation as a whole. It is only in this way that Namibia can address food insecurity; alleviate poverty and achieving Government’s goal of Vision 2030. Very few farmers have separate operational accounts for their farm businesses and as a result everything is passed through the same account. Such a move is ultimately not viable in the long run. The question however is how does such an operation model contributes to reaching your farming objectives. We need to evolve as a nation and move to the next level.