Otniel Hembapu
OKAHANDJA – Four communal farmers in the Ovitoto settlement in the Omatako constituency have received a great morale booster ahead of this year’s expected drought, when the Otjozondjupa Regional Council through the constituency office handed over 80 goats to the farmers.
The donation of goats, which are worth an estimated N$134 500, was given to the farmers through the regional council’s Rural Development Programme of Support to Poor Rural Farmers initiative, which aims to empower rural farmers through food security and self-reliance.
The beneficiaries hail from the villages of Otjongombe, Doringlaagte, Ondamekondo and Oruuwa, and each received one ram and 19 ewes.
Omatako constituency councillor Israel Hukura said he was delighted at the gesture and happy to see the regional leadership delivering on its promises of empowering local communities through collaborative efforts.
“I must urge the beneficiaries to take good care of the animals and farm productively so that they can earn an income from the goats. Not just that, they must also be able to support their families from this noble initiative,” said Hukura, who also shared that the donated goats were procured from local farmers within the Omatako constituency.
Since the initiative is an annual running programme, he called upon the beneficiaries to take good care of donated goats by keeping them healthy and ensuring that they multiply, so that the next leg of the programme can source from them next year.
“For the next leg of the initiative, the regional council will want to come back and procure goats from this year’s beneficiaries; they should be the suppliers. I would also like to thank our constituency’s farmers for supplying good quality animals towards this very important programme.”
-ohembapu@nepc.scom.na