Agriculture minister Mac Albert Hengari clearly intends to hit the ground running. In his maiden address to the staff of his ministry, he struck the right chords by highlighting the need for better, arable land for communal farmers. In short, he wants communal farmers to be elevated to commercial farming in order to reap the best of fruits from their hard toiling. 

This speaks highly of the efforts of government in prioritising the agricultural sector, and is indeed a welcome move. 

The sustenance produced from livestock farming supports 1.2 million Namibians in over 200 000 households, according to available data. 

In fact, about 70% of the Namibian population depends on agricultural activities for their livelihoods, mostly in the subsistence sector. 

Agriculture in Namibia contributes around 5.1% of the GDP, of which 70% represents the output of the livestock sub-sector, latest figures show. 

In a recent interview with Al Jazeera, President Netumbo Nandi-Ndaitwah was very clear on the need for value- addition, especially in the agriculture, mining and fisheries sectors. This is indeed the right tone, as value-addition has the immense potential to provide job opportunities, and through that sustain a lot of livelihoods. 

Undoubtedly so, agriculture is indeed a vital sector. In line with the president’s tone, however, the same emphasis of importance needs to be placed on value-addition in this industry. But for that to happen, a lot of moving parts need to be brought together. 

For starters, farmers are all for value-addition, but clearly not at the expense of their livelihoods. 

Hence the need for proper, targeted and researched interventions to maximise value-addition in the agriculture sector. 

The onus is on everyone to contribute in any way possible; such responsibility cannot rest on government alone. 

At the moment, we have more cattle leaving Namibia on the hoof through auctions by South African buyers than what is marketed at Meatco. This has largely to do with prices, as farmers are bound to sell where prices are most favourable for their products. 

Meatco has been appealing to farmers to ‘…keep slaughter-ready animals within the Namibian borders, and avoid them leaving on the hoof for South Africa…’, but to little avail. 

For years now, the discussion of adding value to the country’s resources has been a topical issue. We have all partaken in the discussion around the issue. At least we all agree that adding value to Namibian products before they are exported is the right thing to do. 

The benefits of value-addition have been made known to all and sundry, and quite rightly so. We now know that to reap the best benefits from what we produce locally, we ought to prioritise adding value to such products. 

The message is loud and clear. 

What we don’t talk about in greater detail, however, is how value-addition could be applied practically. How do we actually go about adding value to products? Even so, how can agricultural produce and commodities benefit from value-addition? 

Value-addition, while being a feasible concept and worth its salt, leaves little room for the immediate benefit of small-scale producers and farmers. Differently put, a single farmer would opt to market his products without much thought to value-addition due to the need to have cash in hand. 

A commercial farmer who mainly relies on the sale of weaner calves for an income would clearly not think twice about selling them off whole, rather than deriving more products from them such as canned beef, biltong, mince and others. It is all about how fast he can get his money after selling the calves. 

In March 2020, Namibia became the first and only African country to export beef to the United States of America. Investment opportunities exist in value chain activities, particularly meat- processing and related industries such as canning, tannery and leather products. 

Veterinary service provision, animal vaccine and medicine production may offer equally viable investment opportunities. 

Namibia is a net exporter of prime, free-range, grass-fed beef, and is the only African country certified to export quality beef to three global markets, namely China, the European Union and the United States. 

There are also other emerging sectors, in particular poultry production, which is likely to increase in scale over the next decade as new start-ups enter the market. 

Namibia likewise has a well-established dairy industry. Although there are a small number of large players dominating the sector, a rise in the export of long-life dairy to northern neighbours has seen an increase in production in recent years. 

Let’s keep working the value-addition route to derive maximum benefits for the agriculture sector and other sectors which are dominated by primary industries.