Horticulture farmers need Government assistance

UVHUNGU-VHUNGU – Small-scale farmers at Salem Irrigation Project, about ten kilometres east of Rundu, told President Hifikepunye Pohamba that they feel neglected because they do not benefit from the various Government empowerment schemes and subsidies.

The majority of those who were complaining when the President visited the project on Friday are women from villages surrounding the irrigation project.The small-scale farmers’ spokesperson, Laurentia Kandanga, told Pohamba that the small farmers have never benefited from the Government fertiliser subsidy as that is apparently meant only for the dry-land crop programme and not for horticulture.They said they have never received any form of assistance except technical advice from the Ministry of Agriculture, Water and Forestry’s regional office.Since the farmers do not benefit from the Government fertiliser subsidy, their crop yield has been very low because of the poor soil fertility. The project also gets waterlogged during the rainy season.According to Kandanga, the project currently has one single water pump station, which is not enough to irrigate the entire area.Cattle and small livestock are also destroying their produce because there are no fences to keep them out.’We want assistance to double our production,’ said Kandanga.Pohamba, who visited the project for the first time, said he was never told of the project before; otherwise he could have visited it a long time ago. He congratulated the small-scale farmers for deciding to work together, as members of a co-operative, stressing that unity would always result in success.Pohamba said since the farmers have decided to concentrate on food production, he feels that they should be assisted. He assured them that he would look into their concerns with the assistance of the ministry.”I feel that those who do something should be assisted because they are trying to do something for food production,’ said the President.Pohamba said there is a great need for Namibians to produce more food, adding that a country that does not produce food for its people is a starving nation.The Salem Irrigation Project small farmers grow products such as cabbages, tomatoes, onions and carrots.The President visited projects involved in food production in the Kavango Region on Friday and Saturday. – Nampa