WINDHOEK – Home-grown Namibian rice could soon become a reality on shop shelves across the country and this product is expected to be cheaper compared to a basket of imported rice dominating the local market.
According to Patrick Kompeli, who is an agricultural research technician in the Ministry of Agriculture, Water and Forestry, the recent completion of modern infrastructure at the Kalimbeza National Rice Project near Katima Mulilo signifies the dawn of a new era. This positive development will propel Namibia to greater heights by boosting its food security and assist with the alleviation of rural poverty, Kompeli said last week. Kompeli also serves as the manager of the rice project situated 40 km east of Katima Mulilo in Zambezi. The rice project has been subjected to wide-spread criticism for not living up to its expectations since the pilot phase of the project was initiated in 2001 to make Namibia self-reliant in rice production. Speaking exclusively to New Era while on a short visit to Windhoek to report on progress Kompeli confirmed that the harvesting of three varieties of rice will be completed in February. “Total yields from 30 hectares under production at an average of 2.5 tonnes per hectare will produce 75 tonnes, which is just the start of bigger things to come as we have some 220 hectares at our disposal which will be put to full use soon,” he elaborated. With the completion of the infrastructure, the focus will now turn to full-scale rice production. Two short rice varieties – Irga and Angola – will be ready for the local market around March, while the tall variety known as Supa, will be ready in May. He says Supa has proven to be the most popular variety and sells out completely every season. “We can only eradicate hunger and poverty by engaging ourselves as communities and individuals in meaningful projects that improve the lives of the Namibian people,” President Hifikepunye Pohamba said at the inauguration of the project in 2009 and he urged officials to implement practical and scientific knowledge in rice production. All three rice varieties were planted in September last year. The shortage of housing for 14 full-time employees is something of the past, after the completion of 14 houses towards the end of last year, Kompeli said. Workers at the project previously shared single rooms, while others travelled long distances to and from Katima Mulilo to work at Kalimbeza. A research technician at Kalimbeza, Venaune Hepute said the construction of warehouses and offices was also completed recently. The warehouse includes a storeroom, a processing plant, research laboratory and a milling plant. “The only thing that is not complete is the powering of the office complex. The state-of-the–art new rice milling machine has also been installed. We are waiting for Nored to come and put up a new transformer. I do not know when exactly they will be coming, hopefully soon. Once that is done, we can set our sights on increasing our production, in order to make it a fully-fledged Green Scheme Project,” said Kompeli. During the 2011/2012 fiscal year, N$20 million was allocated to the project for infrastructure improvements. Some N$14 million was budgeted for the construction of the 14 houses and N$28 million was budgeted for the warehouse and office complex. The Kalimbeza rice project was declared a national priority by President Hifikepunye Pohamba in 2009, indicating its potential to boost food security and assist with poverty reduction in the country.
It was jointly implemented by the Ministry of Agriculture, Water and Forestry and the University of Namibia (Unam) in 2007. A research laboratory, which is being built at the rice project, was named after the late Professor Luke Kanyomeka. The late Kanyomeka, who was instrumental in spearheading the establishment of the project, died in a Windhoek hospital in June 2011 following a short illness. He was also known affectionately as as Dr Rice. Kompeli reiterated what president Pohamba had said last year. “We think that Namibia should seriously consider the possibility of using the waters of the Zambezi, Kwando and Linyanti rivers for irrigated rice production. Since the Ohangwena and Omusati regions are lining up for rice transplanting, I think it is doable.” To that effect, Unam has declared the Kalimbeza Rice Project a centre of excellence for skills and technology transfer in the country. Unam’s partnership with leading universities in rice expertise such as Nagoya in Japan and Gadja Mada in Indonesia, will equip Namibians with the necessary skills and competencies. Everything is now being done to ensure that the proudly Namibian Kalimbeza rice soon finds its way into Namibian shops and supermarkets. Kompeli has visited China and Japan on many occasions to learn more about the planting and harvesting of various rice varieties.
By Deon Schlechter