Three-hundred Namibian youth are set to benefit from a pilot project in charcoal production by the Ministry of Sport, Youth and National Service.
Deputy Minister of Sport, Youth and National Service, Emma Kantema-Gaomas, told Nampa on Monday the initiative was launched in 2020 with 55 youth, but did not take off due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
“We just want to continue with that programme, but with more youth,” she said.
She added that the project is the result of the youth ministry, along with the Ministry of Industrialisation, Trade and SME Development, identifying opportunities that contribute to youth self-employment in the agriculture sector.
The pilot phase will create employment opportunities for the 300 youth who will undergo two types of training, namely civic training to instil discipline, a sense of responsibility and ownership, as well as harvesting charcoal and charcoal making.
The project will be launched in early April 2022 at Farm Gemsbokpan at Rietfontein and at the John Pandeni Agricultural Centre in Grootfontein.
Kantema-Gaomas also said commercialising the biomass resource for charcoal production provides great opportunities for the Namibian youth, noting that it will speak directly to youth empowerment, employment creation objectives and diversification of economic activities.
“The concept could not have come at a better time as the youth are the most affected by the economic crisis of job losses due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Every step we take towards self-sufficiency as a nation is everything that we need,” she said.
Meanwhile, the Executive Director in the youth ministry Audrin Mathe in a statement issued on Monday said that the government has budgeted for seed capital for training, allowance, accommodation, materials and other operational needs.
The government is also ready to avail government farms in dire need of debushing and harvesting of the forest.
“The Namibian biomass sector has almost doubled its employment from 6 000 to 11 000 in the past five years and put in place important measures ensuring environmental and social sustainability, such as internationally recognised sustainability certification standards,” he said.
The goal is to further grow and modernise the sector as charcoal production has become a major contributor to agricultural exports and has constituted 17 per cent of total agricultural exports in 2019.
Source: The Namibian Press Agency