Staff Reporter
THE Governor of Kavango West Region, Sirkka Ausiku, has called on the Ministry of Finance and the Ministry of Labour to address the management problems at the Kavango Cattle Range in the Tondoro constituency.
She made these remarks during the Kavango West Region’s State of the Region Address, where Ausiku highlighted the region’s high hopes for the state-owned cattle range, which has reportedly suffered cattle losses due to mismanagement.
“The region is also appealing to the Ministry of Finance and Public Enterprises, and the Ministry of Labour, Industrialisation and Trade to ensure that the management issues at Kavango Cattle Range are addressed without further delay because the region believes that, if this farm is well managed, it can create agro-processing industries, much-needed employment, address poverty as well as improve food security in the country,” she said.
In addition to her hopes for the Kavango Cattle Range, Ausiku stressed the importance of agriculture as a priority sector for the region to improve livelihoods. She revealed that many people in Kavango West have taken a keen interest in agriculture, not just in livestock farming but also in horticulture. The governor expressed pride in the youth’s particular interest in horticulture and assured that the Kavango West Regional Council aims to support these efforts.
Ausiku further mentioned that the region’s horticulture farmers have formed an association to enable them to coordinate their activities and find markets for their products. To empower these producers, she explained, the region plans to host a conference in October, bringing stakeholders together to develop effective strategies to help horticulture farmers access markets.
While making the regional council’s support for Kavango West’s farmers clear, Ausiku also highlighted that the lack of technical and financial support is holding the region’s farmers back. She therefore appealed to financial institutions and other relevant stakeholders to support the farmers’ efforts.
“The lack of technical and financial support from offices, ministries, agencies, and financial institutions like the Development Bank of Namibia and AgriBank to local farmers and to our business community is still a challenge. We are appealing for them to address this matter,” the governor said.
