Maria David
THE Ministry of Agriculture, Water and Land Reform Executive Director, Ndiyakupi Nghituwamata, said that a total of eight Green Scheme Projects are currently under production.
Nghituwamata made this announcement while addressing top management in the ministry during the performance workshop underway at Oshakati.
According to Nghituwamata, the productive schemes include Etunda, Musese, Sikondo, ORIP, Shandikongoro, Hardap, Uvungu-Vhungu, and Shadikongoro.
“Meanwhile, as an interim measure, seeds and fertilizers have been ordered to plant 50 hectares of rice while the redesigning is ongoing,” she said.
Nghituwamata revealed that the production status at Etunda includes harvesting 180 hectares of maize with an average yield of 8.7 tons per hectare. They have also planted 210 hectares of wheat to be harvested between October and November.
“Sikondo is currently harvesting 75 hectares of maize with an average yield of 4 tons per hectare and has planted 115 hectares. Musese SSF Component planted 90 hectares of maize and no wheat. Uvungu-Vhungu has 80 hectares of maize with an average yield of 7 tons per hectare and planted 94 hectares of wheat,” she said.
She added that Shadikongoro harvested 72 hectares of maize with an average yield of 7 tons per hectare, and no wheat has been planted there as infrastructure is being repaired.
Meanwhile, Nghituwamata added that Hardap has 80 hectares of lucerne planted, and ORIP has 25 hectares of dates.
Further, Nghituwamata said the ministry is in the process of ordering 60 hectares of grape vines for the SSF that need to be replenished, and Ndonga Linena has planted 60 hectares of maize and harvested 408.96 tons. Additionally, 33 hectares of oats and 10 hectares of lucerne are planted.
She also indicated that progress has been made at the Kalimbeza Rice Project, with the evaluation for the appointment of the consultant to redesign Kalimbeza having been finalized, and it’s due to be tabled to PC for discussion.
Moreover, Nghituwamata said the Namibia Agricultural Mechanization and Seed Improvement Project (NAMSIP) aims to improve household food security and nutrition, job creation, household incomes, and the lives of rural people through increased agricultural production and productivity.
She added that this is being done in line with Namibia’s Fifth National Development Plan (NDP5: 2017/2018-2021/2022), the Harambee Prosperity Plan (HPP: 2016/2017-2019/2020), and the Growth at Home Strategy for Industrialization, which identify agriculture as a priority area with the potential to contribute to economic development, social transformation, environmental sustainability, and good governance.
During the current financial year, Nghituwamata said the project spent a total of N$28,005,480.20, of which N$23,393,589.03 was funded by the African Development Bank (ADB) and N$4,611,891.17 came from the government counterpart contribution.
