Keetmanshoop: Minister of Agriculture, Water and Land Reform, Calle Schlettwein has said the agricultural sector stands the best chance to induce a high dimension of inclusion and social progression in the country.
Speaking during the Keetmanshoop Agricultural, Industrial and Tourism Expo here on Tuesday, Schlettwein said agriculture can induce social progression through boosting national food security and food self-sufficiency. This is best done through increased agricultural modernisation, increased productivity and production, and creating jobs given the sector’s high employment intensity.
‘The frontiers for inclusive growth in the agricultural sector are scalable through the value chain approach, from farm to fork; that is, from the primary activities of production to preservation, processing, distribution and marketing. The sector can singularly crowd in a large number of people, with less skills complexity,’ he added.
Schlettwein noted that significant value and high job content are realised through
the production of final consumer goods, development of value chains and increasing farmer and local participation in the value chains and value shares.
The minister said there is a need for Namibia to meaningfully recognise agriculture as a national priority and accord it such priority through deliberate resource allocation across all facets of the value chain.
He cited that at 2.3 per cent of total non-interest expenditure, and about 0.7 per cent of Gross Domestic Product (GDP) in the 2024/2025 financial year, budgetary allocation to agriculture falls far short of recognising agriculture as a high national priority and is a matter which must be urgently aligned.
‘If we say agriculture is important and it is, then we must put our money where our mouth is, an allocation of about 1 per cent of total non-interest expenditure is grossly insufficient to support both social developmental goals for food and water security and must be significantly improved,’ he stressed.
Schlettwein further said the ||Kharas Reg
ion stands as one of the cornerstones of Namibia’s agricultural sector, making significant contributions to the country’s GDP, through its livestock production, horticulture, table grape production and diamond mining.
‘Both our mining and agricultural heritage have greatly been formulated by activities here in the south, it is imperative to note that with the recent oil and gas discoveries as well as green hydrogen developments, the region presents significant potential and opportunities with its rich oil and gas industry,’ said Schlettwein.
He said the new developments will further bolster the national economic growth and serve as catalysts for economic diversification and expansion.
The annual Keetmanshoop expo started on Tuesday and ends Saturday.
Source: The Namibia Press Agency
