Oshikoto Governor, Penda Ya Ndakolo, on Wednesday encouraged communal and small-scale commercial farmers in the region to continue in producing enough grain food to sustain the region’s inhabitants.
The governor was speaking at the 2022 State of the Region Address (SORA), which he delivered at Omuthiya.
He said this year’s expected bumper harvests in the region are due to the good rainfall received, noting that the residents capitalised on it to produce enough grain food for subsistence and surpluses for sale at the local markets.
“As farmers, we have to continue producing and to those fellow residents with vast agricultural land, please let us also utilise it optimally,” he said.
He then applauded the Ondonga Traditional Authority, which availed a 30-hectare fertile piece of land to the communities of Uukwanamba, where several households had participated in ploughing and producing mahangu grain.
The field donated by the traditional authority belongs to everyone and various households cultivated there to produce their mahangu, Ya Ndakolo said.
The governor also thanked the Okashana Rural Development Agricultural Centre at Omuthiya, where 228 rural small-scale commercial farmers were trained last year in how best to cultivate mahangu.
The Ministry of Agriculture, Water and Land Reform’s directorate of agricultural production, extension and engineering services was also thanked by Ya Ndakolo for assisting 1 500 farmers with ploughs, tractors, planters and different seeds in 2021.
The same directorates also assisted 51 farmers involved in horticulture with seeds, fertilisers and pesticides for improved farming production and fencing materials, he said.
“We are also happy that the ministry, through its veterinary services, vaccinated our 178 000 cattle against the foot and mouth disease (FMD) and 20 000 dogs against rabies during its 2021 financial year,” he said.
Lastly, Ya Ndakolo thanked the Omuthiya Town Council, which availed N.dollars 3 million for the further construction of an open market, where grain harvested by farmers is being sold in the town to generate income for the residents.
Source: The Namibian Press Agency
