In Numbers
Net Funding Requirements:
USD 1.4m (February 2023 – July 2023)
People Assisted in December 2022 and January 2023:
Home-Grown School Feeding Programme: 11,730 school children
Integrated Community-based Food Systems Projects: 1,457 beneficiaries
Operational Updates
Food Systems – Ondera First Wheat Harvest and Maize Meal Planting
WFP in partnership with the Oshikoto Regional Council and the Ministry of Gender Equality, Poverty Eradication and Social Welfare has been scaling up agricultural activities at Ondera Resettlement Farm. The project has an end-goal of enhancing local capacities to manage every phase of production for community-based food self-sufficiency. After successfully harvesting 12.5 tons of wheat (valued at NAD 153,000), which has since supported disaster management programmes by the Office of the Prime Minister (OPM), the project is currently in its second phase of implementation through the planting of maize.
Overall, this project aims to enhance productive capacity of vulnerable communities, particularly youth and women, thereby strengthening equitable access to adequate, safe, and healthy foods.
South to South Learning Visit
In December 2022, WFP in partnership with OPM, the Ministry of Agriculture, Water and Land Reform, the Namibian Correctional Service (NCS) and Ongula Village Homestead led a South-South learning visit to Harare, Zimbabwe.
The aim was to witness different projects led by the Ministry of Lands, Agriculture, Fisheries, Water & Rural Development, and learn from some of the best practices that can be replicated in Namibia.
The visit explored local flagship projects such as dairy farms, seed and fertilizer manufacturing sites and agricultural development projects. As part of the recommendations, WFP in collaboration with local actors, will incorporate best practices on resilience and asset creation into the existing food systems projects, thereby creating a culture of collaboration and mutual aid for improved livelihoods.
Namibian Correctional Services – Food Systems Partnership
In 2022, WFP signed Memoranda of Understanding with the NCS, Impact for Africa S.p.A. (IFA), and Lithon Project Consultants Pty (Ltd) (Lithon). As part of the action plan, these parties are required to develop, prepare, and execute a food systems pilot project incorporating all phases of production (from production, processing, distribution, aggregation, marketing, and consumption).
As a result of this agreement, the parties launched an integrated food production project on 12 January 2023, in the Hardap Region. This ground-breaking social-impact investment project will support government’s efforts towards rural economic transformation and sustainable food systems, as envisaged under the UN Sustainable Development Goal 2 (Zero Hunger) through enhanced Partnerships (SDG 17) by the year 2030.
Regional Directors Visit
Mr. Menghestab Haile, WFP’s Regional Director (RD) for Southern Africa embarked on a four-day working visit from 11-14 January 2023. The mission’s objectives were to initiate high-level engagement and officiate the launch of the cropping activities at NCS in Hardap Region.
Further, a high-level courtesy meeting was held with the Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of International Relations and Cooperation, Hon Netumbo Nandi-Ndaitwah and various Executive Directors from key ministries. Resultantly, the meeting attested to solid partnerships between WFP and the various ministries aimed at upscaling programmes to improve food systems and attain food self-sufficiency in Namibia.
The RD also engaged with the private sector, financial institutions, and development partners with the aim of making agriculture an attractive sector for youth. Such a development will increase agricultural production while also reducing youth unemployment rates which are currently at nearly 49 percent for youth aged 15-24 (Trading Economics, 2022).
As part of the outcomes, RD attested to Namibia’s good governance and excellent network, positioning the country as a digital education leader in Southern Africa.
Source: World Food Programme
