Elizabeth Hiyolwa
MUSESE – As the country’s planting season kicked off, the man in charge of Musese Green Scheme, Winfried Metzger, has re-emphasised that the purpose of the country’s green schemes is to support and uplift the communities in which they operate.
In an interview with the information ministry’s Kavango West office, he emphasised that the initial aims and goals of green schemes in each area were for food security for the community, and to improve the livelihoods of the communities through food production, job creation and skills transfer. The green scheme currently has 105 employees and hires about 200 temporary employees to assist with weeding.
“Primarily, the green schemes are for food security; the second goal is to educate our future generations so we have future farmers - and only thirdly, really to be profitable and have those profits ploughed back into the community,” said Metzger.
Metzger, through his private green scheme at Kanyikama, has been uplifting communities for the past years. To do this, he has drilled 22 boreholes between Nkurenkuru and Katwitwi thus far for both communities and schools, and he plans to drill two more for the Nzinze and Siku communities.
He further noted that drilling boreholes for communities are part of giving back to the people, saying everyone is supposed to have access to potable water. He said this also reduces the human-wildlife conflict, particularly when people have to fetch water from rivers where there is a high risk of crocodile attacks.
Metzger stressed that he gives back in this form, as his business is nothing without the support of the people, saying, “that comes directly out of what we are producing in the fields and the support we are getting from the consumers. The Kavango people, the people who are buying this maize meal, are indirectly financing the workers in the field. They are paying for the whole thing”.
Elaborating on the challenges at the green scheme, Metzger pointed out constant power outages and lack of internet connection as two of the main problems.
He noted this negatively affects production, as the running of the automatic system that irrigates and applies fertiliser is not possible without internet access.
Metzger added that due to power interruptions, the young maize that was planted around mid-December experienced heat waves – and due to power interruptions, they were unable to irrigate; thus, crops did not get water on time.
“Time to repair or restore power takes too long, and a lot of our small plants suffered. Roots got burnt, plants got burnt and they are difficult to recover again,” he explained.
Metzger also called for a need to educate the community on the sabotaging effects of vandalism.
This is in response to infrastructure being deliberately damaged through the cutting of poles and wires.
He added the culprits should be dealt with to the full extent of the law if found.