‘State must buy our mahangu’

TWO northern communal farmers want Government to consider buying a yearly quota of mahangu (millet) from communal farmers, as it is does with commercial maize growers.

The plea was made by the Chairperson of the Mangetti Farmers’ Association (MFA), Ishmael Shailemo, and Magnus Nangombe, who is a farmer and headman in the Mangetti area. Shailemo and Nangombe told The Namibian in Windhoek this week that this would encourage mahangu growers to produce more than they can consume and sell the surplus to Government.They said at the moment communal mahangu growers cannot do so because there is no market for their produce.The two farmers said if mahangu growers could earn some money from their produce, it would enable parents to afford their children’s school uniforms, support their families and buy fertilisers for their fields.Government could use the mahangu to feed people in hospitals, schools and prisons.”Many people eat mahangu in this country.Why is the Government not buying a quota from mahangu farmers,” said Nangombe.Shailemo and Nangombe also want to see the Veterinary Cordon Fence, or Red Line, removed.They claim that the fence leads to discrimination against communal farmers, because meat produced north of the fence is worth less on the market than meat from the commercial farming areas.The purpose of the fence is to prevent the spread of contagious livestock diseases.Shailemo and Nangombe told The Namibian in Windhoek this week that this would encourage mahangu growers to produce more than they can consume and sell the surplus to Government.They said at the moment communal mahangu growers cannot do so because there is no market for their produce.The two farmers said if mahangu growers could earn some money from their produce, it would enable parents to afford their children’s school uniforms, support their families and buy fertilisers for their fields.Government could use the mahangu to feed people in hospitals, schools and prisons.”Many people eat mahangu in this country.Why is the Government not buying a quota from mahangu farmers,” said Nangombe. Shailemo and Nangombe also want to see the Veterinary Cordon Fence, or Red Line, removed.They claim that the fence leads to discrimination against communal farmers, because meat produced north of the fence is worth less on the market than meat from the commercial farming areas.The purpose of the fence is to prevent the spread of contagious livestock diseases.