Maria David
THE second edition of the Oshikuku Agricultural and Training Expo was officially opened by Deputy Minister of Agriculture Anna Shiweda.
This year’s expo is being held under the theme “Modernisation of Agriculture in Africa and Beyond”.
According to Shiweda, the hosting of this Expo is clear evidence of a move from theory to practice to fast-track agricultural development and growth in the Oshikuku Constituency and the Region at large.
“Therefore, the modernization and mechanization of agriculture in Namibia are essential and imperative if we are to feed our growing population, close the current wide food import gap, and ultimately achieve our goal of food self-sufficiency, as well as contribute to the achievement of the UN-SDG No. 2 on Zero Hunger,” she said.
Moreover, Shiweda said they can only increase the resilience of the agriculture sector to Climate Change through adaptation and mitigation strategies that are based on modern and innovative agriculture techniques, such as Conservation Agriculture and Precision Agriculture.
She also said that agriculture is considered to be the mother of industrialization in the world, and Namibia subscribes to this factual statement.
In addition, Shiweda indicated that agriculture remains one of the key cornerstones of the Namibian economy and the main support pillar for the livelihood of some 70% of the Namibian population in terms of employment, income, and food security, especially in rural areas.
Furthermore, Namibia is classified as a country with high social and economic inequality among its population, as depicted by its high Gini-coefficient of about 0.58.
Shiweda said that this high level of inequality remains a serious national concern, and as a result, the government has been implementing a number of initiatives such as the Resettlement Programme and the Affirmative Loan Scheme with the objective of addressing this undesirable social and economic situation.
Leave a Reply