A delegation from the United States (US) is visiting Namibia this week to explore opportunities for cooperation in livestock genetics.
The delegation includes officials from the US department of agriculture’s foreign agricultural service, based in Pretoria, and the US Livestock Genetics Export organisation.
The visit is being hosted by the Livestock and Livestock Products Board of Namibia (LLPBN) in partnership with the Namibia Stud Breeders Association.
During the three-day visit, the delegation will tour selected stud breeding farms around Windhoek to learn about Namibia’s livestock breeding industry and its genetic resources.
The visit will end with a business-to-business networking session in Windhoek, where the delegation will meet Namibian stud breeders to discuss possible cooperation in the import and export of livestock genetic material.
The discussions come as Namibian stud breeders face challenges in accessing superior livestock genetics because of the current foot-and-mouth disease outbreak in South Africa.
The LLPBN says the US, together with Australia, is one of the alternative sources of high-quality livestock genetics available to Namibian breeders.
