Africa-Press – Namibia. EMPOWERING young people with agricultural skills can open doors to economic, social and food sustainability prosperity. Haikali Ndatulumukwa, Founder and Executive Chairman of the Youth In Agriculture, made these remarks during yesterday’s launch of a community garden in Windhoek, while explaining that businesses in agriculture can offer a pathway out of poverty.
In order for this to happen, however, Ndatulumukwa said the public and private sectors need to work together to support smallholders. The community-based gardening and food systems project is designed to enhance food production, stimulate inclusive economic growth and poverty reduction in rural and urban communities.
This is achieved by providing agriculture training, improving access to productive infrastructure and services that are expected to lead to sustainable agricultural production and equitable returns.
Ndatulumukwa stated that it is for this reason that the Youth In Agriculture Organisation launched a community gardening and food systems project which involves the construction of backyard gardens and enabling space to grow food.
He added that it also provides training, raises awareness about the importance of food production and the transfer of modernised gardening system. “It aims to tackle the lack of access to modern farming technologies experienced by the poorest smallholders in remote villages and to support private sector mechanised service providers and maintenance services,” he said.
Ndatulumukwa noted that the initiate therefore aims to strengthen food systems by promoting technologies that increase productivity, agro-processing, as well as linking smallholding farmers to the market. By doing such, the initiative addresses food and nutrition insecurity at grassroot level.
He further explained that the project will also provide some start-up support to conceptualise a national agriculture information system, with the medium-term objective to build capacity for data collection and management in support of policy formulation, enhanced public service provision, and improved risk monitoring in agriculture.
He added that the system will promote the coordinated organisation, standardisation and integration of data and information, supported by remote sensing and meteorological data and analysis capacity, and enhance communication and interoperability between the farmers and accessibility to the public and private sectors.
He also noted that Namibia has made considerable progress in promoting food security and agro industries since last year, and that it’s worth celebrating.
An eneficiary from the Megameno orphanage home, Jeremia Shalukeni, said they previously depended on food donations, but with the establishment of the garden, they will be able to produce their own food and hopefully expand their garden.
“Our children have been trained to maintain the garden, and we are grateful for this services,” said Shalukeni. Shalukeni said it is their hope that smallholder agriculture is seen as small-scale business and not as a place for poor people who need handouts.
“To make this vision a reality, we need to channel national and international support into making smallholder agriculture productive and profitable. Only then will smallholders be able to transform themselves into agribusiness entrepreneurs,” concluded Shalukeni.
