The government of Namibia held a demonstration of new agriculture equipment and machinery at Ohakweenyanga village in the Oshana region.
Agriculture, Water and Land Reform minister, Calle Schlettwein said the development goal of this project is to improve household food security and contribute to poverty reduction, while the specific objectives are to enhance agricultural productivity in order to reduce the annual importation of staple foods, cereal crops, facilitate job creation as well as enhance household incomes to improve the livelihoods of rural people.
The project has two key sub-components, namely agricultural mechanisation and certified seed systems’ improvement. The Namibia Agricultural Mechanisation and Seed Improvement Project (NAMSIP)’s focus on agricultural mechanisation and seed system improvement directly responds to NDP5 and HPP I and II, which aim at structural transformation through increased agricultural production and productivity.
Availability of equipment
The agricultural mechanisation component of the project on the other hand will enable farmers to complete farming operations much faster and more efficiently, especially in the crop production regions where rain-fed farming is practised. In addition, it will also help increase productivity and reduce the cost of cultivation while being vital to ensure the timely availability and accessibility of quality certified seed by farmers.
“In order to assist the farmers and achieve these objectives, the ministry, through NAMSIP, has procured different agricultural equipment such as jab seed drillers; hand-operated weeding cultivators; hand-operated seedling transplanters; and knapsack sprayers, among others,” he stated.
The equipment will be available at all agricultural development centres in all regions, and farmers will borrow these equipment at a minimal fee, with the exception of the knapsack sprayers. The equipment is affordable and easy to use, and does not require skilled people. They can be rented for N$20 per day, and it is only four days maximum per house. They are available in Oshana, Kunene North, Ohangwena, Omusati, Omaheke, Otjozondjupa, Kavango East, Kavango West and Zambezi, respectively.
“Knapsack sprayers will only be used by ministerial staff to control pests and diseases in farmers’ fields in the event of any outbreak. I, therefore, urge all farmers to use the equipment with care and a sense of ownership, taking into consideration that other farmers will need to use them,” said Schlettwein.
