The Namibian Agronomic Board’s (NAB) Horticulture Market Development Manager, Emilie Abraham, has encouraged Namibian farmers to invest in growing fruit.
Namibia currently imports 96 per cent of its fruit, mostly from South Africa.
The remaining 4 per cent includes mainly citrus, mangoes and grapes grown locally.
The NAB is planning to start a fruit development scheme to increase the scale of fruit production in the country. The scheme will support farmers who venture into fruit production by providing them with quality planting materials.
Abraham told Nampa in a recent interview the development of the scheme is in the planning stage.
“There is a huge scope for fruit production and fruit value addition in Namibia, hence we encourage Namibian producers and investors to take advantage of these investment opportunities,” she said.
She explained that investing in fruit production will not only increase the fruit market share, but will also reduce Namibia’s dependence on imported fruit and create employment opportunities for the youth.
“Increasing inflation as a result of low supply suggests that there are investment avenues aimed at improved food security across all industries,” Abraham stated further.
According to the Monthly Market Watch by the Agricultural Bank of Namibia (Agribank), fruit, particularly citrus, was in high demand during periods when COVID-19 infections peaked.
As a result, fruit inflation remained elevated, increasing by 14.9 per cent in December 2021 on the back of increasing demand amidst low supply.
With only 4 per cent of fruit consumed being produced locally, investment in fruit production remains crucial for product diversification, Abraham reiterated.
“Namibia has only one farmer who grows apples and 100 per cent of the bananas we consume are imported,” she stated.
Currently Namibia has got 87 fruit producers who venture mostly in producing grape, mango and citrus.
Abraham also encouraged fruit producers who grow fruit for commercial purposes, to register with the NAB as required by law.
Section 10(1) (j) of the Namibia Agronomic Industry Act 20 of 1992 requires all producers of controlled products to register with the Namibian Agronomic Board.
Source: The Namibian Press Agency