By:Nghiinomenwa-vali Erastus
The Livestock Producers Organisation (LPO) claims news on white commercial farmers sabotaging Meatco is “malicious” and “absurd”.
LPO saysthe allegation is a ploy to detract away from the genuine concerns of producers and it will support investigations that will prove its credibleness, LPO Chairperson, Thinus Pretorius said in a statement this week.
“Suggestions that white farmers want to see the demise of Meatco are therefore malicious and absurd with the only intention to shift the attention away from genuine concerns and efforts to address the issues,” Pretorius suggested.
He said the concerns and efforts are to ensure Meatco benefits all meat producers in every corner of the country.
The organisation’s statement was in response to various media reports published during the past week, claiming that white commercial farmers had delivered a letter to Ghanaian authorities stating that the meat they import from Namibia’s Northern Communal Area (NCAs) was not fit for human consumption as it is infected with the Foot and Mouth Disease (FMD).
According to LPO, the report should be condemned in the strongest possible way, “as it intends to create division within the livestock sector, especially among producers in the north and south”.
Pretorius said the organisation supports the government’s intention for an urgent investigation into this matter to determine the authenticity and existence of such a letter, which implies serious economic sabotage.
He stated that the agricultural sector must unite and not be divided, as this is the foundation of nation-building and national unity.
“It will be a sad day if allegations such as these succeed in dividing producers north and south and across racial lines. We condemn these dividing actions,”he said.
Pretorius called for harmony between all producers, stakeholders, and civil society, including the media, which is essential for a combined search for solutions to the many challenges the livestock industry is facing.
“The LPO understands the crucial role of Meatco in the livestock value chain with reference to export markets and income to local farmers and Namibia,” Pretorius said.
The LPO representative has also stated that the organisation is proud to have contributed to the establishment of Namibian meat as a premier international brand by allowing Namibia to be the only country on the African continent to have access to precious markets like China,U.S. and European markets with possibilities in the Middle East and the rest of Africa.
He also assured that the LPO remains committed to rendering all assistance to the government and its agencies, to protect and promote the Namibian meat brand that will contribute to job security and sustainable income for the whole of the farming community.
The Minister of Agriculture Carl Schwlettein has also refuted the allegation on the NCAa exported beef.
Schwlettein indicated the allegation surficed last year duringa Bi-National Commission meeting held in Accra, Ghana.
In a press statement, he said “these offensively false and malicious representations were allegedly propagated to Ghanaian authorities by a group of Namibian commercial farmers, whose identity is still unknown to the ministry”.
He said the ministry is in consultation with the relevant Ghanaian authorities to verify these allegations.
Schlettwein also confirmed that it was resolved that the allegations on the safety of Namibian beef products exported from the NCA abattoirs are groundless.
He assured the producers that the matter was thus resolved and continued market access for Namibian beef into Ghana remained uninterrupted.
“We can thus confirm that the Namibian beef exports from the Northern Communal Areas do not carry the Foot and Mouth Disease (FMD) and pose no risk of introducing the disease in the market countries, in particular the Ghanaian market,” Schlettwein said.
All beef exports from the NCAs are exported under the Commodity-Based Trade from the export-approved abattoirs, based on the World Organisation for Animal Health (WOAH) standards. Email: erastus@thevillager.com.na
The NCA-Export Sabotage Is Not True- LPO
