GOVERNMENT will inject N$80 million into the Karas Region to expand date and table grape projects and it is expected that 180 permanent and 850 seasonal jobs will be created.
Cabinet approved the lease of 220 hectares of land at the Naute Dam to the company Al-Dhahra & NDC Date Palm Development for a period of 50 years. The contract can be renewed after expiry. This development initiative was based on a desire of the Namibia Development Corporation (NDC) to extend its developmental activities to the southern part of Namibia. This will be done together with Al-Dhahra Agricultural Company Namibia, which was established in February 2009. According to the company’s website, Namibia’s location in the southern hemisphere enables the production of fresh dates for export when the major producers in the northern hemisphere are off-season. Al Dhahra’s head office is based in the United Arab Emirates (UAE). About 10 to 15 per cent of the shares will be reserved for project employees. The UAE investors expressed interest in entering into a commercial joint venture with the NDC to develop an additional 200 hectares. The land earmarked for the development is currently on lease to the NDC.The target of the development is to produce 2 000 tonnes of high-quality dates and 270 tonnes of table grapes annually. It is envisaged that the project will provide 180 permanent job opportunities and 850 seasonal job opportunities, bringing the total to 1 030 jobs.In a press release issued by the Ministry of Information on the latest Cabinet decisions, Cabinet determined that the lease for the land would be N$120 000 a year and that the amount be reviewed on an annual basis. The money must be paid to Treasury. The first date palms were planted in 1991 with the aim to produce fresh dates for the export market. During 1995 a table grape production unit was established to complement the date production activities. The Namibia Development Corporation in collaboration with the Ministry of Agriculture, Water and Forestry initiated that project nearly 20 years ago.
