Namibia can eliminate hunger by building stronger food systems, supporting small-scale farmers and helping communities produce their own food instead of relying on aid.
Brazil’s ambassador to Namibia, Pedro Menezes, said this on Thursday during Brazil’s handover of a N$1.9 million contribution to the World Food Programme in Windhoek.
Menezes said Brazil has overcome widespread hunger in less than 30 years and believes Namibia can do the same.
“Brazil has walked the road from hunger to food security in less than 30 years. We know that Namibia will also walk with its own strength, its own farmers and its own vision,” he said.
Menezes said Brazil’s approach focuses on helping communities become self-reliant instead of depending on food aid.
Since 2019, Brazil has shifted its support from humanitarian assistance to helping partner countries build stronger food systems.
Menezes said Brazil wants to expand the programme from supporting 300 families to 3 000 families.
He also announced that a Namibian delegation will travel to Brazil in August to study the country’s food security programmes and how land reform has been linked to productive agriculture.
“It’s not about expropriating land and passing it to other people. It’s about making that land productive so it contributes to development and food security,” he said.
National Planning Commission director general Kaire Mbuende says the contribution supports Namibia’s own development plans instead of introducing an outside agenda.
“When development cooperation aligns with national plans, every dollar works harder, every result endures longer, and ownership rests where it belongs: with the Namibian people and their institutions,” he says.
