The name Agnes Limbo rings strongly in political circles. 

As a member of the Rally for Democracy and Progress, Limbo had been an active politician before retiring from the public domain a few years ago. 

Unknown to many, however, is her prowess for horticulture and agronomy, greatly aided by her green fingers and love for agriculture.

As a child of a peasant farmer in the Zambezi region, Limbo grew up doing all kinds of farming. 

From working the land to planting, cultivating and reaping the rewards in the end, she did it all. 

Growing up, she was more at home in the rural areas as opposed to the hustling and bustling of the city, Limbo said.

The genesis

While still an active politician, Limbo started collecting seeds from her missions abroad and would plant these in small plant pots from her residence in Windhoek. 

Once such seeds sprouted, she took them to her home in Katima Mulilo, where she transplanted them into the ground. 

This gave birth to Lyambezi Foods, which was formed and registered in 2018 as a vehicle to market and sell the produce from Limbo’s fields. 

The business combines a unique concept, where the farming of various crops, poultry and livestock is practised.

In 2020, during the country’s first national lockdown, Lyambezi Foods cemented itself as a formidable supplier of organic plants for its immediate surroundings, and it has since spread its wings as far as Opuwo in the Kunene region.

A sad encounter with Covid-19 that year prompted Limbo to try different herbs and medicinal concoctions to rid her body of the disease. 

After bravely fighting the virus off, Limbo was astonished by how much of her plants helped her beat Covid-19. 

This ushered in a new chapter for her business.

“All the herbs I used, especially the turmeric, were sourced from my field. This made me realise that there is indeed a market for organic produce. My new focus was now on that route as far as Lyambezi Foods is concerned,” she said.

Her farm’s main crops consist of three types of sweet potatoes, strawberries, gooseberries, papaya and a variety of herbs, such as turmeric. 

She also plants common vegetables such as spinach. 

Lyambezi foods, in keeping with the call to add value to local products, has been toying with the idea of producing jam and other by-products from some of her products, such as strawberries.

“We want our local people to also enjoy the fruit of our labour by assisting in the production chain process so that we create jobs here too. All our produce have the potential to be further broken down into other smaller products,” she said.

Challenges

Despite the various lakes that make up the Zambezi region, the main challenge to Limbo’s business has been a shortage of affordable water for her business. 

She currently uses water supplied by the government through the agriculture ministry’s directorate of rural water supply, which Limbo said costs an arm and a leg.

“It’s a great irony that even places that are situated on the banks of the Zambezi struggle with an adequate supply of potable water. This has been a great challenge to the business. We need boreholes to solve this problem,” she
said.

Birds continue to pose threats to the growth of the business, and they eat produce, which in turn struggles to grow to its full potential. 

Coupled to this are rats that often inhabit the area, Limbo said.

She is, however, not looking back and has already set targets for her business. 

Her emphasis is the promotion of organic food to keep healthy.

“Having organic plants is easy on your body, and it does not damage your soil; it is also healthy. Growing up, we never had a lot of diabetes, cancer and high blood pressure problems in the Zambezi region. This is because we took a lot of herbs and greens. We need to return to that lifestyle,” she said.

- tjatindi@gmail.com