THE decision by the Minister of Agriculture, Water and Forestry, John Mutorwa, to restrict the importation of agricultural produce, will go a long way towards empowering Namibian producers, who have for long been sidelined by local suppliers, as well as achieving national food self-sufficiency.
Namibia has no reason to rely on imported fresh produce for the simple reason that it is not sustainable in the long-run and because the vested interests that seek to foist such imports on us clearly care only about lining their pockets and would like to manipulate us like puppets on a string. Until when shall we suffer in silence and without acting?
There is a global trend indicating food scarcity is on the increase and countries that do not invest in agriculture will rue missing the existing window of opportunity allowing them to do so. Our government, in its collective wisdom, invested substantially in viable green schemes such as Etunda, Ndonga Linena, Shadikongoro, Sikondo, Uvhungu-vungu among many others to steer us towards food self-sufficiency and genuine national security.
These projects promote food security at national and household levels, while providing cheaper sources of food to many needy communities across this vast country. They also create much-needed jobs and create wealth for our nation unlike food imports that add very little value in our economy and instead benefit vested interests in South Africa and abroad.
Government not only established green schemes, but it has also started to establish fresh produce hubs in Rundu, Ongwediva and Windhoek to ensure every Namibian has access to fresh local produce at affordable prices. Sidelining local producers is a deliberate and systematic ploy by those self-same vested interests south of the Orange River. The excuse that local produce is of an inferior quality is complete hogwash and a pathetic smokescreen to perpetuate our dependence on foreign vested interests.
If anything imported food, specifically fresh produce is often not farm-fresh, because of the vast distances it takes before it reaches the consumer. Despite the current devastating drought we have the means to produce high quality maize, millet, sorghum and even rice for our people. But many local fresh produce suppliers favour South African and other foreign producers at the expense of local farmers and this state of affairs should come to an end as soon as possible.
Just the other year Etunda, that produces export-quality butternuts, onions, maize, corn green peppers, cucumbers, watermelons, carrots and millet struggled to find a market for its produce. It is unacceptable that 23 years after independence that some retailers still prefer stocking their shelves with imported products, which they could easily source locally.
Imported produce is far more expensive in Namibia, because many local retailers prefer imports and pass on the added costs to unsuspecting consumers. Apart from the high cost of importing food from other countries, consumers also face the risk of being exposed to tainted food and the kangaroo and horsemeat scandals are a classic case in point.
For those unfamiliar with the horsemeat scandal it involved unscrupulous retailers who sold horsemeat to over-trusting consumers under the guise of selling beef. Also, a company that received a tender to supply beef to government school hostels ended up supplying kangaroo meat instead of beef in order to maximise its profits scandalously.
The other downside of food imports is that controls could be lax in the supply chain and there is always the possibility of food poisoning and other risks. Having said that, all patriotic Namibians ought to support Mutorwa’s stance, because we, strictly speaking, need to put restrictions on all food imports for the benefit of the Namibian citizen.
BY The Editor