Union looking for alternativesWith trying times for farmers and agricultural debt having increased by N$1 billion in a year, farmers must look at alternative methods and innovations. Unlocking the potential in agriculture 0 The Namibia Agricultural Union (NAU) is on the lookout for better, innovative and improved farming methods and has urged the Namibian farming community to look at alternatives to traditional production methods, which could increase production potential on farms. The Union also urged farmers to look at forming joint ventures which could complement different streams of agricultural production.While it acknowledges that Namibian farmers have been under tremendous pressure in recent times, it maintains that farming is and will continue to be one of the mainstays of the Namibian economy.
At a press conference held as a precursor to the ‘Agri Outlook Conference’ which is due to be held on 6 October 2016 in Windhoek, the NAU announced that this bi-annual conference will focus on attempts to find and discuss alternative farming methods, as our farmers are clearly experiencing a huge number of challenges.
According to Sakkie Coetzee, the executive manager of the NAU, “Income derived from farming has shown very little increase in the past three years, while the expenses keep soaring. Thus our motto: ‘Unlock the potential in agriculture’. There is an increasing pressure on the farming community to find ways in which they can save, but entrepreneurship is just as important. We – the NAU – would like to encourage and assist farmers, who need to address these demands. We need to find capacity to increase their profitability.”
Dr Ben Amathila, the chairman of the Parliamentary Standing Committee for Economics, Natural Resources and Public Administration, will welcome the attendees, whereafter the vice-president of Namibia, Dr Nickey Iyambo, will formally open the conference. When asked about the possible impact of issues, like the unsolved land evaluation and NEEEF, on the conference, Coetzee welcomed the possibility of allowing the politicians to air their views. He added: “We invited the minister of agriculture as the relevant line ministry and we extended various invitations to his staff too, so it would be good if they were prepared to attend and address the farmers when it comes to the open discussion rounds as their input is always appreciated.”
He further explained that the NAU invited various weather experts and economic advisors to express their views and introduce the newest trends to the farming community. He said: “One of our pet projects is the one making use of satellite technology for rangeland and agronomy. This project is supported financially by the EU and our government and we would like to see more farmers making use of this opportunity as we already circulated the related weather maps of Namibia on a bi-weekly basis. There is much more information to be gained from this system, which is the reason why we invited Dr Cornelis de Waal to speak about the subject.” Another speaker, Jurie de Kock, will spend time on reaching economics of scale through entering into joint ventures.
As far as Coetzee is concerned this is the way to go considering that land is often not available to those citizens who wish to increase their activities.
Christo Viljoen of FNB made it very clear that recent political developments will not have a negative impact on the bank’s willingness to invest in agriculture. Farming debt has decreased from N$5.8 billion to N$4.8 billion in the past year. “There are more than enough reasons for FNB to continue investing into the farming community by assisting with relevant loans,” he said.
The conference will take place at Safari Hotel and Conference Centre in Windhoek starting at 08:00 on 6 October. The attendance fee is N$750 on account of gracious sponsors including Santam, Sanlam, Novel Motors, First National Bank, Namib Mills and Feedmaster. Coetzee advises farmers to book in advance but explained that the NAU will allow late-comers to attend if space is available.