NAB rewards producers

The Namibian Agronomic Board (NAB) recently hosted its annual National Horticulture Day at Olushandja in the Omusati Region.The NAB annually honours outstanding horticulture producers and traders at this event. The event aims to publicly recognise the hard work, innovation and ingenuity of horticulture producers and traders in their efforts to provide the Namibian market with locally produced fresh fruit and vegetables.This year the event was held under the theme 'Small-scale producers, our food - our story'. The day, which was attended by more than 200 horticultural producers and stakeholders from all over the country consisted of three main sessions.The first session consisted of a presentation on the analysis of current marketing trends and alternative marketing options for small-scale producers across Namibia, followed by a panel discussion on the repositioning of small-scale producers for increased access to formal markets. The panel shared their views with the audience at the event on best practices regarding market access, which mainly depends on consistence of supply, good relationships and quality produce.However, the panel recommended that the NAB engage with stakeholders in the horticulture industry to implement its recommendations.The chairperson of NAB's national horticulture task team, Nico van der Merwe, said the industry has experienced notable positive developments, such as an increase in horticulture production recorded in the 2017/18 financial year as well as an increase of 74.5% in monetary value experienced over the past five years in the horticultural industry. “The NAB has been implementing the horticulture market share promotion scheme since its inception in 2005. Back then, the scheme stood at just 5% and has grown to its present 44% as a threshold.”He said the scheme requires that all traders, retailers and caterers buy a minimum of 44% of all their fresh fruit and vegetables locally, in a given period, before they will be issued with import permits. “In addition to that, the NAB is also currently conducting research on onion production self-sufficiency which will guide the establishment of policy interventions to reduce onion imports, since currently imports versus local stand at approximately 50%.”The same sentiment was also echoed by NAB chairman, Michael Iyambo, in his address. “The NAB, through its agent the Agro-Marketing and Trade Agency closely monitors the compliance of all importers of horticulture produce, and curtails the imports issued to traders, retailers and caterers who do not adhere to the agreed minimum of 44% local procurement,” he said.The governor of the Omusati Region, Erginus Endjala, said the region is an active producer in securing horticulture food production and has attracted different investors to venture into value addition, so that produce not consumed by the fresh produce market could be processed without being wasted. “Horticultural producers have been on the rise and Olushandja alone consists of more than 80 horticultural producers, which is quite an achievement.” Endjala further called upon the agriculture ministry, the NAB, as well as other relevant stakeholders, to collaborate in creating equal opportunities in the formal market to allow small-scale producers to market their fresh produce.Maria Zileni Zaloumis-Nyirenda, a Zambian large-scale horticulture farmer popularly known as the 'Zed Farmer', was a guest speaker at the event. Her Tuzini Farms currently employs 62 people of which 40 are women. Under her leadership, Tuzini Farms produces a total of 300 boxes of tomatoes daily and is also the major supplier of tomatoes to Freshmark countrywide in Zambia and for export markets.Reflecting on her journey in the farming industry, Zaloumis-Nyirenda said being a woman can be a huge challenge in the agriculture sector, because traditionally most farmers were men. She advised female farmers in Namibia to persevere, despite the challenges they encounter in the industry. “With consistency, focus and hard work everything is possible in farming. You also need to be patient and strong, because not every day is a good day, but the key to it all is that being a woman should not be a limitation to anything.” The overall winners in the producer categories were Kobus and Gaylene Coetzee from the Karst area in the Oshikoto Region, who walked away as the winners of the Large-Scale Horticulture Producer of the Year. Louis Louw from the Otjizondupa Region won the Medium-Scale Horticulture Producer of the Year and Eilo Amashali was awarded the Small-Scale Horticulture Producer of the Year. The overall winner in the horticultural trader Mega Category was Go Fresh (Pty) Limited in Swakopmund.STAFF REPORTER

NAB rewards producers

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Namibian Sun 2025-03-07

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NAB rewards producers

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Namibian Sun 2025-03-07

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