Namibia has achieved a significant milestone in food security, reaching 45% self-sufficiency for the first time in 15 years, an official has revealed.
The achievement is attributed to sustained output from smallholder and large-scale farmers as well as the World Food Programme (WFP)’s support for end-to-end food systems.
This comes as Namibia is threatened by severe drought and poor harvest for this year due to lack of rainfall and the El Nino effects.
According to authorities, Namibia, being a desert nation, has significantly reduced food imports, especially for staple grains such as maize, pearl millet, and wheat.
This is being made possible through collaborative efforts between farmers, agro-processors and industry marketing agreements that have boosted crop production, market access, and overall sustainability.
“The objective is to expand operations, increase crop production, and propel Namibia towards food self-sufficiency while diminishing dependence on imports,” said Fidelis Mwazi, the Chief Executive Officer of the Namibian Agronomic Board (NAB).
NAB regulates agronomic and horticultural product movement, facilitating import restrictions to protect local producers from competition and promote food self-sufficiency through market-share promotion, special controlled products, and grain marketing schemes.
“We therefore reaffirm our commitment to implementing a robust import substitution programme to create a conducive environment and a thriving market for local farmers,” stated Mwazi.
Meanwhile, Governor of Zambezi Region Lawrence Sampofu, whose jurisdiction has high potential for agricultural production and food security, said the region makes a significant contribution to white maize and pearl millet production.
“Zambezi region accounts for 7% of white maize and 25% of pearl millet grain production. Therefore, I implore farmers to utilise fertile land and favourable rainfall, because the need is there,” said Sampofu.
Further efforts are being made by the UN’s World Food Programme (WFP) which is promoting end-to-end food systems in Namibia, providing climate-smart technology, drought-resistant seeds, infrastructure investment, clean energy, market access, and agricultural training.
WFP’s Representative and Country Director for Namibia George Fedha said over the years, WFP has been complementing the government’s priorities in scaling up domestic food production, facilitating partnerships and investments that enable the country to capture greater value from the food system as well as strengthening systems and structures that demonstrate efficiency and effectiveness.
“WFP provides technical support to the government to help strengthen food systems value chain as well as accelerate rural transformation towards the attainment of Zero Hunger,” added Fedha.
