By: Eba Kandovazu
The governor of the Oshikoto region Penda ya Ndakolo says he is aware of water issues in the region.
He also said there are areas in the region that contain underground water unfit for human, crop or animal consumption and that there is a lack of resources with the region prone to drought.
He, however, says it should not limit or stop inhabitants from making the region an agricultural hub.
He says this would not only boost the local economy but further address the issue of unemployment in the region, particularly amongst the youth.
The former defence minister made the remarks while launching the Ondera School and Community project, which he says aims to address food shortages.
He said last year, the Oshikoto Regional Council and the United Nations’ World Food Programme entered into a Memorandum of Understanding aimed at identifying projects and other areas of
investments in the region, viable for implementation through the Sustainable Food Systems Programme.
According to him, the Ondera School and Community Project were identified and considered one of the region’s projects to be implemented under the said programme.
The launch occurred at Ondera Resettlement Farm, which is home to about 500 marginalised families.
“We have seen various development partners, such as Namibia’s Motor Vehicle Accident Fund (MVA-Fund), Project of Hope and World Food Programme, among others coming on board to assist government and the region in particular to implement the concept of this project. Hunger affects hundreds of millions of people around the globe. It undermines economic growth, causes human suffering, stunts our children’s growth, and impacts human dignity in general,” ya Ndakolo said.
He stressed that although government has made progress in working towards attaining various national goals, such goals, including the provision of drought relief aid to feed more than 744 000, a myriad of challenges persist. He says these span from the Covid-19, climatic edaphic such as drought and other socio-economic factors constraint Namibia’s agricultural production and productivity.
“This exacerbated shocks to the production and value chain system of both commercial and communal farming sectors in the country. We have seen, for example, how our food systems as a nation were tested during the closing of borders as a preventative measure for Covid-19 in 2020. Though that was not
permanent, it magnified the vulnerabilities present in our food systems, which deny our people access to nutritional food
and a healthy balanced diet.”
He said it is essential that strong and empowered coordination mechanisms, including a wide range of producers and stakeholders, are put in place.
This, he said, is “to ensure that policies and programs of government and development partners are aligned with the national and regional priorities to address hunger and poverty, as well as to build a strong and healthy food system for our country.”
He added that in Oshikoto, agriculture production is mainly based on crops and livestock, which support the livelihood of nearly 80 per cent of the region’s population.
The governor said that the Ondera project is inclusive and of regional development. He urged the Ondera Community to capitalise on the project and modernise food production by adopting a climate-resilient, cost-effective and technology-led approach associated with high yield to contribute to national food security.
He pleaded with the project beneficiaries to utilise and treat the “cherished support” as a gateway to attract more investments, not only in the Ondera Farm community but in the region as a whole.
“Your commitments and willingness to utilise this support in good faith is relied upon by the whole region in an effort to attract more support and investments of this magnitude in the Region,” Ya Ndakolo maintained.
Meanwhile, the Oshikoto Regional Council chairperson Samuel Shivute said the global crisis triggered increased food and fuel prices, making living costs very expensive, and that it further crippled the efforts of many governments around the world in fighting poverty and hunger.
He said the council and the World Food Programme signed a Memorandum of Understanding in 2021, aimed at partnering and collaborating in the implementation of projects that are ideal to be executed through the Sustainable Food Systems Programme.
The partnership aims to address key driving factors of food and nutrition insecurity, the long-term trends of rising hunger, emergency preparedness and access to the market by local farmers and producers, and the whole value chain, from food production to consumption in the region.
“It also aims to create livelihood opportunities and building resilience through the implementation of new solutions and strategies to transform food systems in the region,” Shivute added.
