Staff Reporter
THE government is preparing a plan to support farmers affected by Foot-and-Mouth Disease (FMD) restrictions, while consultations are under way with international trading partners over meat shipments and new zoning measures, Agriculture Minister Inge Zaamwani told the National Assembly.
Zaamwani said the ministry is listening to farmers and other stakeholders and is putting together a plan to address the financial and other challenges caused by the FMD situation. She said the plan would be presented to the leadership for approval before being implemented.
PDM leader McHenry Venaani questioned reports that a shipment of Namibian meat worth about N$400 million, reportedly en route to Europe, had been sent back to Namibia.
Venaani asked the minister to confirm whether the shipment had been returned and whether it belonged to Savannah Beef or Meatco.
He also called for the National Assembly to be properly briefed on developments surrounding the FMD outbreak, saying the issue required a united national response.
Zaamwani said the government was consulting with relevant trading partners and had engaged Namibia’s ambassador in Brussels.
She said she was also due to meet the European Union ambassador later in the week.
The minister explained that Namibia would have to officially notify the World Organisation for Animal Health (WOAH), after which the status of the affected meat containers could be determined.
She said the possibility of the shipment being allowed to continue would depend on Namibia’s traceability system being able to establish where the meat originated and whether it came from an affected area.
“We have a chance that they could be allowed to go, but it depends on the jurisdiction of other countries and the requirements,” Zaamwani said.
She said consultations were continuing and indicated that she would return to issue a Ministerial statement.
Meanwhile, LPM Chief Whip Utaara Mootu asked the minister whether arrangements had been made with the Bank of Namibia and the Ministry of Finance to provide relief to farmers with agricultural loans who are affected by the restrictions.
Mootu also questioned the testing methods being used for small livestock, noting that sheep and goats can carry the virus without showing visible symptoms.
She further asked about the possibility of using zoning and sub-zoning to allow unaffected areas to resume international trade, as well as measures to assist communal farmers who need to move livestock between areas because of water shortages.
Zaamwani said the ministry had already started working on zoning and sub-zoning earlier this year, with the aim of limiting the spread of FMD across the country.
She said the government had published a declaration through the Government Gazette and was already in the tender process to establish a phase zone in the southern part of the country, starting in the ||Kharas Region and later extending to Hardap, Khomas and other areas.
“Everything is being addressed,” Zaamwani said, adding that the ministry would engage relevant stakeholders once its plan had been approved.
“We are listening, we hear. We are equally affected, and we will not let people just go like that because we are in a leadership position.”
She also appealed to the National Assembly to remain united in dealing with the FMD situation.
“If you have ideas, come and talk to us and we’ll listen,” she said.
Photo: Parliament of the Republic of Namibia