The Joint Presidency Committee (JPC) of the Namibia Agriculture Union (NAU) and the Namibia National Farmers Union (NNFU) held their first meeting for the new year last week The most important decision which the JPC took, was to give the Namibia Emerging Commercial Farmers Forum (NECFF) a seat on the JPC.

The NECFF is a forum which was established last year under the leadership of the Emerging Commercial Farmers Support Programme (ECFSP) to represent the emerging commercial farming sector.

The chairman of this forum is Salomon Tjipura of the Eland Farmers Association at Grootfontein.

Highest priority of the JPC in 2008 is to investigate the founding of an umbrella organisation which represents all farmers in Namibia," said Raimar von Hase, NAU president after the meeting.

"This proposed new umbrella organisation shall not influence the identity of the existing structures, namely the NAU and NNFU, but will serve as a vehicle to accommodate all producers under one roof."

Other matters discussed by the JPC were the urgency to obtain a conclusion on the small livestock marketing scheme regarding live exports, the drought situation in parts of the country and bush-to-energy projects.

The meeting also discussed the terms of reference for the new business structure of the Meat Corporation (Meatco), which is to be restructured.

At the JPC meeting the delegates said farewell to Vehaka Tjimune, who has resigned after 10 years of service at the NNFU.

For the past three years, Tjimune was the Executive Manager at the NNFU.

Another official of that organisation, Olof Munjanu will act as the interim Executive Manager.

"Mr Tjimune is a strategic thinker and cooperation between all role players in the agricultural sector was near to his heart," said NAU president Von Hase," during his term of office as Executive Manager of the NNFU, cooperation between the two agricultural unions and especially the JPC functioned exceptionally well."

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