Africa-Press – Namibia. FORTY-FIVE farmers from Sesfontein constituency and Khorixas district were trained in horticulture last week.
In a statement released yesterday by the Environmental Investment Fund spokesperson, Lot Ndamanomhata, the trained farmers will also train other community members.
The two-day training, which ran from 27 to 28 January, aimed to empower farmers with knowledge on horticultural production and improve their cropping practices.
Chief agricultural officer of the Ministry of Agriculture, Water and Land Reform in the Kunene region, Charlie Mwaetako, said crop production in the Kunene region is critical as the region is a hazard-prone area.
He said there are poor and vulnerable farmers, who do not even have access to the traditional sources of seed of their preferred varieties and are not acquainted with planting. Hence, this training provided an opportunity for farmers to learn and to become leading farmers.
Senior lecturer and researcher at the University of Namibia Lydia Horn, during the training, said there was a need to diversify crop production depending on seasons.
“To increase the resilience of farming systems to the various disasters or human-induced hazards, farmers need to get an opportunity to get seeds of various crops that can perform under the challenging conditions the Kunene region is experiencing,” said Horn.
One of the trained farmers, Charles Boois said he would improve his farming methods and train people in his area.
“I will make sure that I empower farmers in my area and that with the skills I gained I will improve my planting skills and move towards planting seasonal crops instead of the same crops over and over again,” he said.
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