Photo: The Namibian Farmer
By: Erastus Andreas
Locally sourced maize grain costs about N$7,000 per tonne, compared with N$5,000 for imports from South Africa, prompting farmers to raise concerns about production costs during a meeting with Prime Minister Elijah Ngurare at Ombandje Farm near Otavi in the Otjozondjupa Region on Sunday.
During the engagement, Ngurare proposed establishing a fertiliser and chemical manufacturing plant in Namibia to reduce reliance on imported agricultural inputs.
Farmers and millers attributed part of the price difference to the high cost of fertiliser and agricultural chemicals used in local production.
Farmer Jesaya Shipingana, speaking to The Village Newspaper, said reliance on imported fertiliser and agricultural chemicals contributed to the costs faced by local producers.
Shipingana said farmers had to source agricultural inputs from outside Namibia and pay transportation costs.
Another farmer, Alfonso Hamakali, said high fertiliser and agricultural chemical prices increased maize production costs and made it difficult for local producers to compete with grain imported from South Africa.
Hamakali said local manufacturing could reduce reliance on imported inputs and potentially lower transportation costs.
He also said the affordability of locally manufactured inputs would be important for farmers.
Ngurare also proposed establishing a quality assurance facility in Namibia to reduce reliance on neighbouring countries for food testing and quality control.
The proposed facility would provide food testing and quality assurance services locally, while the fertiliser and chemical plant would focus on manufacturing agricultural inputs.
No details were provided in the information available for this report on the proposed plant’s location, estimated investment, or implementation timeline.
The prices reported during the meeting put locally sourced maize at about N$7,000 per tonne and maize imported from South Africa at N$5,000 per tonne, a difference of N$2,000 per tonne.
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