By: Andrew Kathindi
The agriculture minister Calle Schlettwein has rejected the Agronomic Producers Association’s (APA) public-private partnership (PPP) proposal for several of the country’s green schemes.
As reported by the Namibian Sun last week, the association was looking to facilitate the process for producers/groups of commercial farmers and the agriculture ministry to enter a PPP.
The association’s proposal came on the backdrop of government looking to lease 11 green schemes to foreign investors as it winds up AgriBusDev, the state-owned enterprise that currently operates the green schemes.
The green schemes are currently lying idle for the production of winter crops, particularly wheat.
According to Schlettwein, however, APA proposed a three-year leasehold, which he said was not possible.
“During the preliminary discussions with the Agronomic Producers Association, it became clear that the association aimed for at least a three-season/year leasehold for several green schemes.
“A leasehold of that nature is not possible without a proper bidding process according to the national lease procedures and, therefore, the ministry advised the association to rather
participate in responding to our requests for proposals for leaseholds of green schemes for terms long enough to get returns on the respective investments, which will be published in batches as from the end of May 2022,” said Schlettwein.
The minister said it was understood that APA’s proposal would bridge the current winter crop season and assist the ministry in getting a wheat harvest this year.
APA, in their proposal, had argued that in 2021 alone, Namibia imported approximately 85 per cent of its wheat demands – or 104 847 tons, compared to 18 459 tons (15 per cent) produced locally.
“Our main aim was to mitigate a possible shortage of wheat later this year and next year. The information from The Food and Agriculture Organisation is that due to the war in Ukraine, there is a food price crisis developing in the short term, which could escalate to non-availability of wheat and wheat products later,” said the minister.
He further said that the ministry considered APA’s proposal as an indication from the private sector of a market opportunity for all private operators instead of members of the association only.
“As such, if the proposal were to be entertained, it would have been opened up to all interested parties through a short term expression of interest which would have given all potentially interested private operators opportunity to bid.”
Schlettwein said the ministry would, in the meantime, proceed to facilitate wheat planting where possible in cooperation with green scheme managers.
“We have the possibility to mitigate a looming crisis with our own means.”
In their proposal to the minister, APA had proposed a 50/50 profit share system, in which existing machinery and implements and labour force at the green scheme projects are used. Another proposal was for a 70/30 profit share system, where producers provide all machinery, tools and labour.
“The APA believes that the domestic agronomy sector can play a crucial role in these trying times by expanding local production with the help of the ministry,” the association had said.
