Political Analyst, Dr Gerson Sindano, said outsourcing the green schemes in the two Kavango regions to private investors is an intellectual insult to local farmers or investors in the area.

Sindano made the observation on the sidelines of the Kavango East Region Governor, Bonny Wakudumo’s State of the Region Address ( SORA) here on Wednesday.

The Minister of Agriculture, Water and Land Reform, Calle Schlettwein, told investors in Dubai, the United Arab Emirates earlier this year that the government will in June this year issue a request for a proposal to lease 11 green schemes.

‘Outsourcing these green schemes to outsiders means that we are unable to do it ourselves, therefore we need someone else to come and do it,’ Sindano said.

He said issues of agriculture have to do with policy shifts, before stating that the country’s policies make it difficult for local farmers or agriculturalists to produce massively.

He said the Southern Africa Customs Union (SACU) also makes it difficult for farmers as government would rather import produce from South Africa in order to make a profit from the revenues.

He said in India the government encourages farmers to produce more and purchases the produce from the farmers.

‘Government then redistributes these produce in the country elsewhere while in Namibia it’s more of a survival of the fittest method,’ he said.

Sindano called on the government to come up with deliberate policy interventions to change the status quo.

Public Relations Officer in the Ministry of Agriculture, Water and Land Reform, Jona Musheko, said the ministry did not exclude anybody from submitting their proposal, thus, the leasing of the green schemes is open to both local and international investors.

Musheko said the request for proposal for the Vhungu-Vhungu Dairy Farm is already out and called on local investors who have the capacity as well as money to submit their proposals.

Meanwhile, on the region’s performance in the agriculture sector (current financial year) Wakudumo said 281 horticulture farmers benefitted from the National Horticulture Support Programme, where the ministry spent close to N.dollars 2 million.

According to the governor, 1205 farmers also benefitted from planting, ploughing and reaping services in the dry land crop production programme under the ministry.

Source: The Namibian Press Agency