By: Kandjengo kaMkwaanyoka
My friend from Uukwaludhi in Omusati Region just sent me a picture of their Oshifukwa (a portion of bambara nuts) and how it is progressing, because I love eefukwa/bambara nuts and I also sell them to a few of my acquaintances.
However, it got me thinking- if I procure my omahangu, eefukwa, and beans from the northern crop-producing subsistence farmers, why must I fight for them to get space in the strict retailers?
If all I do is pay a 7-seater to deliver my consignment at Tura.
However, to do it on a large scale we just need to coordinate well and create a well-coordinated supply chain for locally organic produced fresh produce.
To strengthen food production in the country, we have to ensure that those with fields and the capacity to produce are incentivised to produce more.
The subsistence crop farmers in the central north extending to the eastern regions mostly produce for their own consumption and to store till the next season.
However, there is huge potential for them to produce more and earn income from their harvest every year.
Most of us enjoy the fresh harvest from our grandmothers and mothers back home and every harvesting season, we receive a consignment of eefukwa, iitila, omakunde, mahangu, and fresh maize.
Thus, with capabilities can we organizes our village households who are expecting surplus on their field harvest and willing to export to urban areas to organize their harvest at various centres.
We can use social media to post their harvests and link them up with willing buyers in various towns.
Fresh produces are expensive in Windhoek and various towns, and we can literarily drive down prices during the harvesting season by procuring from the subsistence crop producers back home.
Consequently, we will change the old culture of production for consumption and encourage full utilisation of home fields.
There is less willingness from various retailers to stock some indigenous organic food items or very complicated requirements are in place and cannot be matched by small producers.
There is, however, an option to bypass such distribution channels and strengthen the existing informal approach deemed.
We are the consumers, our deliberate efforts and love for indigenous fresh produce can assist in building a different distribution channel.
More importantly, to enhance production at the field level and boost food security we have to provide a market for such products via different distribution channels.
We cry foul of not accessing the market for our produce, but the power is within us to pivot the distribution channels and create pop-up markets for our produce every harvesting season.
For those who have fresh omakunde, iitila, eefukwa- am ready to procure. These are Kandjengo’s opinion not of The Villager and its editorial. If you have a comment on this opinion, you may contact Kandjengo on his email: gerastus16@gmail.com
