President Netumbo Nandi-Ndaitwah has called on Namibia to prioritise agriculture and pursue a more diversified mining strategy in response to falling diamond prices.
Speaking at the Etunda Green Scheme, Nandi-Ndaitwah described agriculture as the country’s dependable “cow” for long-term sustainability, stressing that mineral dependence is risky because prices are set externally.
“Diamonds were our main cow, but prices have gone down as artificial stones flood the market; we must now look to other cows that can keep feeding us in the long term, treating agriculture as our reliable source while managing mining carefully,” she said.
The President reaffirmed government’s priorities, emphasising that agriculture is the base of development and the backbone of industrial growth.
“Our priority number one is agriculture, deliberately so, because it is the base for development; public and private sectors must work together, but in a way that never loses sight of the goal to feed the nation at all costs,” she said.
Nandi-Ndaitwah acknowledged the setbacks caused by the collapse of AgriBusDev but praised efforts to revive the country’s green schemes.
“We are picking up again despite the setbacks, and while resources are limited, managers must plan how to meet government halfway so that essential tractors, batteries, and equipment needs are addressed and production continues to rise,” she said.
She stressed that improved yields must translate into self-reliance. “When production increases, income must also increase so that farms can take care of the other equipment needed and avoid being dependent on government all the time, building strength from one season to the next,” she said.
The President also noted that high input costs remained a challenge.
“We recognise inputs are costly and that agriculture is subsidised in many places; we must sit as a government and decide what can be done to increase production so farmers grow from medium to real farmers contributing to the national food basket,” she said.
Operational issues such as housing, asset management, and security at farming projects must also be addressed, she added.
“We have to handle the houses properly as people come and go, and we must confront vandalism and unauthorised forced entry into the fence; I am calling on our traditional leaders to help safeguard these national assets,” she said.
Turning to mining, Nandi-Ndaitwah underlined that the sector, while important, is finite and vulnerable to global price movements.
“Mining is important and deserves attention, but it is non-renewable and its prices are controlled from outside; with diamonds down, we must look at other cows, and agriculture is the cow we can milk if we work together,” she said.
