Staff Reporter
The Ministry of Agriculture, Water and Land Reform Executive Director (ED), Ndiyakupi Nghituwamata announced that the Ministry will soon build a Meat Processing Plant to the tune of N$35 million in Katima Mulilo in the Zambezi Region.
The construction of the Meat Processing Plant is among the major activities funded by the European Union (EU) through the Eleventh European Development Fund (EDF 11). The ED was speaking on Tuesday in Katima Mulilo, at the site inspection of close to 5 hectares (Ha) situated at the Katima Mulilo Abattoir.
The ED further said that, “apart from the construction of the Katima Mulilo Meat Processing Plant, the funding also includes the construction of the Katima Mulilo Quarantine facility and upgrading of the Sachinga Livestock Development Centre (that will be equipped with Satellite Artificial Insemination facility) in the Zambezi Region”.
“The Katima Mulilo abattoir is an export abattoir, this means that we have been exporting raw beef to other countries with less to no value addition. With this new meat processing plant we will be able to add value to the meat and simultaneously create jobs (during the construction period and the operationalization of the plant) in the Zambezi region,” Nghituwamata said.
The Livestock Support Programme (LSP) is implemented in the eight Northern Communal Areas (NCAs) of Kunene, Omusati, Oshana, Oshikoto, Ohangwena, Kavango West, Kavango East, and Zambezi Region. The overall objective of the programme is to promote the entrepreneurship and enhance the livelihood of Northern Communal Areas (NCA) livestock farming communities in a sustainable way, with the purpose to improve the performance of the livestock value chain in the NCA.
EDF11 is funded through a Programme Estimate (PE) by the EU to the amount of N$ 284 million.
The Livestock Support Programme is implemented by indirect management with the government, represented by the National Authorising Officer (NAO) which is the National Planning Commission of Namibia. The Contracting Authority for the PE activities is the NAO, while the Ministry of Agriculture, Water and Land Reform is the project implementer. The Financing Agreement for the LSP in the NCAs was signed on 8 June 2017, while the PE was signed on 15 August 2019 for the implementation of the Programme activities until 14 April 2025.
This PE is in line with the National Plan for the Development of the Beef Value Chain in the NCAs, as outlined in the Harambee Comprehensively Coordinated and Integrated Agricultural Development Programme (HACCIADEP).
