The Swanu youth league expressed concern that Namibia continues to rely on food being imported from other countries.
Swanu says Namibia is a rich country and it is rather irresponsible for the government to continue relying on imported food to feed its people.
Namibia produces about 40% of the food it consumes and is highly dependent on imports.
According to the World Food Programme (WFP), this means that while food is available, price fluctuations can make it difficult for 28% of Namibian families to access food.
This particularly affects 80% of the population that depends on markets to fulfil their food needs.
WFP suggests smallholder farmers also have limited access to nutritious food due to recurrent droughts and floods, low productivity, and limited access to land.
Therefore, Swanu youth league president Brian Ngutjinazo feels that the import of food should be less of the Namibian people’s concern and cry.
“There are other issues that Namibian people could cry foul for, but not food security. Academics such as Nicanor of the University of Namibia, the Dean of Science wrote a comprehensive dissertation on food security but one could not help, but wonder if the Swapo led-government administration makes use of Unam and NUST research papers or they rely on the client-patron advisory networks,” Ngutjinazo reacted.
Swanu youth league is therefore hopeful that the Minister of Finance, Ipumbu Shiimi would do justice to the agricultural and fisheries sectors when he tables the national budget.
He stated graduates who are well trained and informed in the field of agriculture and fisheries are dumped on the “streets of unemployment, and streets of frustration.”
“It is because of these social injustices that Swanu of Namibia youth league is demanding for funds to be allocated to the agricultural industry for loans for agricultural projects, and to the ministry of fisheries for graduates to acquire loans that would enable them to get in the fishing industry, taking also into consideration that the fishing quotas awarding is transparent and fair,” Ngutjinazo stressed.
Swanu youth also demand the amendment of Article 16 of the Namibian Constitution, to allow all those without land to apply and acquire land for agricultural projects such as mahangu plantations, dairy needs among other initiatives.
They believe this could assist the government in eradicating both poverty and unemployment.
Swanu also called for a revisit of some policies to be carefully studied and implemented to be fair and without injustice practices.
These include policies such as the National Agricultural Policy (1995), National Food and Nutrition Policy (1995), National Drought Policy and Strategy (1997), Green Scheme Policy (2008), Namibian Agricultural Marketing and Trade Policy and Strategy (2011) and the Draft Namibian Agricultural Policy (2012).