Africa-Press – Namibia. AGRICULTURE is one of the economic support pillars of many countries, as the majority of people depend directly or indirectly on this sector for their livelihoods.
Deputy Minister of Agriculture Anna Shiweda, said given the importance of this sector, African Continent governments, through the Maputo Declaration committed, in 2003, to allocate at least 10% of their national budgets to agriculture.
Shiweda made the remarks during the opening of the Oshikuku Agriculture and Training Expo on Thursday, saying that the main purpose of this allocation is to address challenges facing farmers and to ensure national food and nutrition security, employment creation and poverty eradication.
However, Shiweda stated that it has been difficult to attain this target due to competing demands for government resources from other sectors.
“Nevertheless, government will continue to work hard towards the achievement of the 10% budget allocation to agriculture,” she said.
Shiweda explained that the expo comes at the right time when the country has to address issues related to food security in the country.
She encourage the participants and exhibitors at the expo to network and discuss solutions to the challenges that are facing their Agricultural Sector and their specific agribusinesses.
“It will be an unfortunate situation to leave from here without tapping into the knowledge and experiences of the participating role-players, experts and your peers,” she added.
In a speech read by Ogongo councillor Daniel Iilende on behalf of Erginus Endjala, Iilende said as they are slowly recovering from the coronavirus pandemic, they need each other to address serious issues threatening daily lives and especially that of food production in the community.
Iilende indicated that this expo comes at the right time where they are in dire need of assistance of the skills and knowledge to ensure food security in the country.
The expo which officially kicks off on Thursday will conclude on Saturday.
The Oshikuku expo was started with the aim of creating a networking environment and will also train over 80 people in the forestry sector.
For More News And Analysis About Namibia Follow Africa-Press
