WINDHOEK – Cabinet has approved some modalities for non-mechanised small-scale hydroponic fodder production systems at farmer’s level.
Minister of Information and Communication Technology Stanley Simataa who on Wednesday announced the cabinet resolutions said these modalities include a one-off 50 percent subsidy on the cost of construction of the small-scale hydroponic fodder production unit.
He said another 50 percent is on the cost of seeds (barley, maize, sorghum and wheat) for farmers participating in the fodder production scheme using the non-mechanised hydroponic system, up to a maximum of N$190 per bag until the end of March 2020.
Cabinet also took note of the research-based evidence with respect to fodder production using the mechanised hydroponic system.
Simataa also confirmed that Cabinet supports financing for the acquisition of a hydroponic mechanised facility for a pilot project at green schemes, and the operational cost thereof, estimated at N$1,87 million.
He noted that Cabinet furthermore approved some proposed criteria to be used for the selection of farmers to participate in such fodder production schemes.
The criteria to be used in the selection process include all trained communal, emerging, resettled and commercial farmers (500 farmers per region; 500x14 regions) totalling 7 000 farmers; and herd statements of farmers to be used to identify beneficiaries.
The other criteria are identity documents and Farm Assured Namibian (FAN) meat card or ordinary to be used by farmers to claim the subsidy; submission of invoices from reputable registered companies, state-owned enterprises and vocational training centres; and the subsidy would be given per household.
Further, Simataa said Cabinet approved that the government, through the Ministry of Gender Equality and Child Welfare, submit the 6th Country Report on the United Nations (UN) Convention on the Elimination of all Forms of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW) to the UN Committee on CEDAW.
Moreover, he stated that Cabinet took note of the 2018/2019 Annual Report of the Namibia College of Open Learning (Namcol) and authorised the Acting Minister of Education, Arts and Culture, Martin Andjamba, to table the report in the National Assembly.