The Ministry of Agriculture, Water and Land Reform says over 40 hectares of sunflowers planted sunflowers at the recently restored Shadikongoro and Sikondo green schemes are projected to yield more than 10,000 liters of sunflower oil by August 2024.
The harvest signifies the largest since the schemes’ re-establishment two years ago. The Ministry’s Executive Director Ndiyakupi Nghituwamata said there had been delays in the harvest in previous seasons due to late deliveries of inputs.
She explained that the ministry had secured a three-year contract with reliable suppliers to prevent this from happening again. This, and repairs to machinery were crucial steps in getting the project back on track.
“There was a period of some years when these green schemes were not working. The last time sunflowers were planted here was in 2018. We are also informed by the manager that this is the biggest hectare of sunflowers we have planted,” she said.
She added that the Ministry is looking to further boost output by collaborating with the World Food Programme and surrounding communities.
She said incorporating the communities as contract farmers, sunflower cultivation and subsequent oil production has the potential to double or even triple, while the initiative is also expected to create additional employment opportunities within these communities.
“I have brought here today the World Food Program to see how they can support us in actually ensuring that we have outgrowers of communities around Shadikongoro who can also feed into the plant so that we actually produce more oil,” she said.
According to the Head of Partnerships and Communications for the World Food Programme, Sem Uutoni, the main goal was to see Namibia become self-sufficient in terms of food security by assisting the government in engaging the communities and farmers.
