Windhoek– The Eenhana and Outapi abattoirs will be ready for commissioning in the second quarter of this year, Minister of Agriculture, Water and Forestry (MAWF) John Mutorwa announced last week in Parliament.
Mutorwa tabled his technical paper in support of the motivation statement of the MAWF 2015/16 budget of N$2.415 billion, of which N$1.245 billion (51.6 percent) is earmarked for the Development Budget and N$1.169 billion (48.4 percent) represents the Operational Budget. He announced that above mentioned abattoirs will be managed through public-private partnerships as part of MAWF’s beef value chain development programme in the Northern Communal Areas (NCAs). He added that the objective of the project is to ensure improved marketing of livestock in the NCAs and production of value added meat and meat products in order to compete at local, regional and international markets.
“Cattle and goats in the NCAs have limited marketing channels and almost no access to lucrative markets. Appropriate, well-situated slaughter facilities, in the form of abattoirs that conform to best practice standards are therefore needed,” he noted. Mutorwa also referred to the construction of the new Rundu abattoir that commenced in the first quarter of this year, and the fact that the Zambezi Regional Council has availed land to the MAWF near Bukalo to erect a meat processing/cooking facility for value added products.
In the Zambezi region, a cooking facility will be set up to improve value addition as well as take advantage of the International Organisation for Animal Health (IOEH)’s Foot and Mouth Disease (FMD) chapter on commodity-based trade to ensure continuous marketing of meat products from an FMD high risk area such as canned beef, cooked meat, biltong and other heat treated meat products. He also announced that the construction of the cold storage facility and meat processing plant at Ongwediva Fresh Produce Hub will start in the first quarter of 2015/16.
Construction of the cold storage and processing plant at Rundu will also commence during the first quarter of this year.
Mutorwa announced that the MAWF plans to implement the strategy for improved animal health status and achieving international recognition for FMD and lung sickness in the NCAs in the beginning of this new financial year. “MAWF will also increase the number of veterinary offices in the NCAs to reduce the distance that farmers have to travel to seek veterinary services. We will also increase the number of order infrastructure in the NCAs to improve import and export control of animals and animal products as well as develop and implement protocols to facilitate the local marketing of meat by small abattoirs in the NCAs. Border harmonising meetings will also be conducted in neighbouring countries, particularly Angola,“ he noted. Mutorwa concluded by stressing the importance of implementing the Angola/Namibia Memorandum of Understanding on cooperation in the control, prevention and eradication of FMD and lung sickness.
A total of 142 908 cattle, 559 426 sheep and 4 707 springbok were slaughtered under veterinary supervision in 2014/15.