NCA agriculture conference in Rundu The Namibia National Farmers Union (NNFU) is holding a Northern Communal Areas (NCA) agricultural stakeholders conference at Rundu.NNFU Executive Director, Mwilima Mushokabanji said in a media statement that the conference, which is being held against the declining contribution of agriculture to the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) of Namibia, will end on Friday.
The unique and persistent challenges confronting the NCA agriculture sector will also be addressed.
“The NNFU has thus organised this consultative conference purposed to deliberate a broad blueprint for the transformation of the sector in NCAs.”
The Minister of Agriculture, Water and Forestry, John Mutorwa will also attend. Senior government officials and captains of industry representing key parastatals will be making presentations, followed by panel discussions on various issues affecting agriculture in the NCA.
Issues to be discussed include livestock challenges and experiences in the Kavango, Zambezi and Kunene regions. The conference will also discuss livestock production and marketing in Namibia; the status of the red meat industry in Namibia; NCA abattoir operations; human wildlife conflict; and the role of agri-finance in livestock production.
Panellists will include well-known veterinary surgeon Dr Axel Hartmann, who will be joined by representatives from the Meat Board of Namibia as well as representatives from the Meat Corporation of Namibia (Meatco).
Shocking figures emerged at the first Africa Drought Conference held in Windhoek earlier this year, where Namibia''s drought and a 12% shrinkage of the agricultural sector since 2013 raised eyebrows.
A decline in crop harvests and dying livestock is affecting the about 70% of Namibians employed in the agricultural sector.
NAMPA