Kavango farmers sell N$1.7m of mahangu

Farmers in the Kavango East Region sold mahangu worth N$1.7 million during Operation Werengendje last year.

This is an indication of the impact the programme had on the lives of farmers, the Kavango East governor, Samuel Mbambo said.

Mbambo initiated the operation.

Literally translated, Operation Werengendje means 'Operation Termite'.

It is aimed at assisting and inspiring residents of the region to grow their own food to ensure self-sufficiency and food security.

“When we planned the programme, we decided to plough 2 000 hectares, but because of challenges here and there we could only plough 1 750 hectares,” he said.

As stakeholders, the Agro Marketing and Trade Agency (AMTA) and Agricultural Business Development Agency (Agribusdev) were responsible for buying the mahangu from farmers, Mbambo said.

“However, because of limited funds from AMTA's side, they could not buy all of the mahangu. However, the money that came into the Kavango East Region because of Operation Werengendje is not less than N$1.7 million,” he stated.

Besides AMTA and Agribusdev, mahangu was also sold to Namibia Breweries Limited and a brewery in South Africa.

Mbambo said Operation Werengendje created a market for farmers, creating an income for a lot of people.

“The main thing here is that the programme brought back that pride in farmers to work and produce food for themselves,” he said.

He added that another aim of operation, besides food production, was restoring human dignity.

NAMPA