ONIIMWANDI – The corporate communications manager at the Environmental Investment Fund of Namibia (EIF) Lot Ndamanomhata has encouraged the public to opt to start up gardens and grow food for themselves.

Ndamanomhata was speaking at a handover of gardens at Oniimwandi on Friday.

The gardens were funded by EIF.

He said food security is the backbone of every nation, and a country producing its own food will add to self-sustainability for the community concerned.

Ndamanomhata added that such gardens also create an income by selling the surplus to the community.

“Let us use this opportunity and produce more to take to Agro-Marketing and Trade Agency (AMTA) in Ongwediva for assessment and marketing,” he said.

AMTA’s regional manager Jacob Hamutenya encouraged farmers to keep growing enough to supply the Ongwediva-based hub, as its stocks are currently depleted.

He said the agency is ready to assist communities to set up gardens, and encouraged the youth to take the lead in agriculture.

Ndamanomhata noted he is dissatisfied with community gardens being spearheaded by the elderly, when the youth could take the lead and assist their parents.

Oshakati East constituency councillor Aram Martin encouraged farmers to cultivate a culture of crop rotation.

He said communities need to shift from the mindset of growing mahangu year after year, but they should add vegetables to their crops.

He noted that growing vegetables creates jobs for the unemployed youth in the country.

Speaking on behalf of the beneficiaries, Hilja Shigwedha expressed gratitude to the EIF.

Shigwedha said they are still in a learning process, and requested that they should be equipped with skills to enable them to run their gardens successfully.

She stressed that at the moment, they are still in need of fertilisers and pesticides to fight the pests affecting their crops.