Africa-Press – Namibia. The Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries, Water and Land Reform is planning to expand the Hardap green scheme at Mariental by 50 hectares of irrigable land, manager Lima Kativa has revealed.
Kativa says the ministry has sent out a tender for the expansion of lucerne production land, and the company that would be awarded the contract would mainly be tasked with de-bushing, levelling, and setting up flood irrigation and drainage channels.
“The successful bidder will employ locals during the development of the land, and afterwards the green scheme will employ two to four permanent employees,” he says.
Kativa says once a contractor has been appointed and work has been completed, lucerne will be planted on the entire 50 hectares of land in April next year.
The entire farm is 258 hectares, with 15 plots of six hectares each for medium scale farmers, 90 hectares for small-scale farmers and 168 hectares for commercial farmers, Kativa says, adding that in terms of market potential, there is Aimab superfarm next door.
Once the lucerne has passed quality standards, the green scheme would have a long-lasting delivery agreement with the farm, he says.
Aimab superfarm is a large commercial, private farm within the Hardap Valley, an area where the Hardap green scheme is also located.
While the green scheme produces lucerne and a variety of vegetables on small plots for medium and small-scale farmers, Aimab superfarm is associated with large-scale operations, including the Mariental super dairy farm and the Harambee agro-produce farm, and has also been the site of a biogas plant project.
Asked if the green scheme would supplement its production with a cattle feedlot, such as the one at Etunda green scheme in the Omusati region, Kativa says the Hardap green scheme already has two old feedlot facilities and the ministry wants to incorporate livestock at the scheme, where they will be fattened up.
However, he says the scheme’s feedlots would mainly cater for small stock such as sheep and goats.
“There are two feedlots that can house up to 500 sheep and goats combined,” he says. Kativa says the successful bidder would hopefully be announced by the end of next month.
Currently, he says, the green scheme has no problem with irrigation water as the Hardap Dam has enough water to last until the next rainy season.
The Hardap green scheme mainly focuses on the production of lucerne, which is a long-term crop thriving in hot conditions, and which is harvested every 45 days.
Lucerne is rich in protein, and the Hardap green scheme sells it to local farmers as well as to animal feed retailers countrywide.
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