Agriculture crucial for Guinas – Khumub

Newly elected Guinas constituency councillor Moses Khumub says agriculture plays a pivotal role in the transformation of communities, especially in his constituency, which is home to thousands of marginalised Namibians.

Khumub made the remark in a recent interview with Ewi lyaNooli when asked about the importance of agriculture in his constituency, which is home to several government resettlement farms.

One such farm is Farm Ondera, where Ewi lyaNooli observed no activity during a recent visit, with the land lying idle.

The lack of work at the farm is due to a damaged water pipe, which prevents water from reaching the centre pivot.

Khumub, however, argued that agriculture remains one of the sectors that can transform the lives of the people in his community.

“The importance of that farm is very pivotal for the upliftment of the living standards of the whole Guinas constituency and also the Oshikoto Region, in the sense that if you look at the traffic from Windhoek that is going towards Oshakati, given again also Omuthiya, which is a rapidly growing town, we can also expand the number of vendors and other businesses with the produce from our farms,” Khumub explained.

“If you look at the different centres like Tsintsabis, Ondera and Ohsivelo, these are some of the most densely populated areas within Guinas and those fields fall perfectly into the aspect of addressing unemployment, not only among youth but among all able people that can work," he said.

Working the problem together

Khumub said he recently visited the farm to meet with the community to discuss how best to manage the project.

“I was briefed – I think it was just about one or two weeks ago that I visited the place – I had a community meeting, not only about that garden but for all other ideas that the community has, simply because I was trying to explain that we also need to diversify the activities that could employ us because, at the end of the day, all of us need to be centred around working to ensure that unemployment is reduced,” Khumub explained.

“So given that I was briefed, the challenges that it has, my office is aware of that. We are just in the process of looking at all the models with the government," he explained.

“We also want to look at what the abilities of the community are, given the fact that maybe we seek help, can they be able to run it on their own, or what is the best model?

“It's a bit of an ongoing process that we really want to see so that whatever solution we get, sustainability should be the underlying bottom line that doesn't matter who pulls out or stops the assistance; it must be self-sustainable; that's the core.”

Farm Ondera is home to hundreds of residents, most of them from the marginalised communities who rely on government support.

Previously, the farm produced various crops and vegetables that were sold to various stakeholders, including the government for its drought relief programme.

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