SHADIKONGORO – President Netumbo Nandi-Naitwah has reiterated her commitment to feeding the Namibian nation through government irrigation schemes.

Speaking during a visit to the Shadikongoro government irrigation project yesterday, Nandi-Ndaitwah, the prioritisation of agriculture and the provision of food security remain high on her list.

“I said I commit myself to feed the Namibian people, and I don’t want to lie to them. When it comes to food security, Zambezi, Kavango East, and Kavango West are to play a major role because fertile land is there and the water is there, which is why the minister of agriculture is in my spotlight. If it demands that I have to visit these regions even twice a year, let it be, I must feed this nation, without failure, other regions also have their advantage,’’ said President Nandi-Ndaitwah.

The President said the idea is for the green schemes to be self-sufficient.

“That is where we are heading to, and that is why even under the Swapo election manifesto, we are talking about making use of these green schemes to the maximum, whereby we can have some partners with the private sector, but that does not make the government go away; the government should be part of it,’’ she said.

“Already if we are bringing in the private sector it’s not that they are taking over the farm but to invest into the farm, they will just come in as partners because what I want to see is maximum use of the green schemes, but if we are able to make it on our own, then we can do so,’’ she noted.

Nandi-Ndaitwah said there appears to have been a wastage at the government projects, which has made projects not to work or to be productive.

“Not necessarily here, but across the board, when they were starting, the good thing is Agribusdev is now out of the way because wherever you are, you are told we were doing well, but when Agribusdev was brought in, everything collapsed. The issue was raised today by the small-scale farmer that he was doing well and was on his way to graduate to medium-scale farmer, but immediately when Agribusdev came in, everything collapsed,’’ she said.

The President said she is also focusing on the southern region with a different interest because there she wants to strengthen the cash crops.

“Here in the regions of Zambezi, Kavango East, and Kavango West, it’s both the cash crop and food security crops; the cash crops are currently under the private sector, and they are doing well. Even if I visit, it’s just to admire. I’m paying attention to these food productions, as for the south, I have a plan on where the focus should be, and we must balance,’’ she stated.

Nandi-Ndaitwah has big plans for the Kunene region, which, amongst others, include the further development of the local beef industry.

“I have the Kunene region, where I am going to focus on the meat industry very seriously. I have a programme for it, and once we make a breakthrough for Kunene, it will benefit the whole northern communal areas in terms of boosting our beef industry, which is dying because of drought. My focus is on food production. As councillors, allow the private sector to play its role when it comes to the cash crops, because we need jobs to be created as cash crops are job intensive.”

The President is expected to visit other green schemes such as Sikondo, Ndonga Linena and Uvhungu-vhungu before returning to Windhoek.