Namibia's 65% food imports worry China
China's ambassador to Namibia, Zhang Yiming, says with the abundance of fertile land and water in the Kavango East, Kavango West and Zambezi regions, Namibia should be able to reduce its reliance on imported food, which currently stands at 65% of the national consumption.
Yiming, who was speaking at drought response event at Rundjarara village in the Kavango East Region's Mashare Constituency, said most developed nations, including China, have invested heavily in their agriculture sectors where rural areas and farmers are key contributors to the economy, something that Namibia should emulate.
“It is our common hope that in the near future, the three regions, Kavango East, Kavango West and Zambezi, could be the granary of Namibia and change the present situation that 65% of food has to be imported,” Yiming said.
For years the three north-eastern regions have been regarded as the potential breadbasket of the country, especially because of the government irrigation projects established along the perennial Okavango River.
But the irrigation projects have not lived up to the expectations, which is why the lack of food security in Namibia has not been addressed.
Yiming shared how China transformed its agriculture during the past 70 years, saying that much emphasis was placed on food security by the government.
“As a country with a long history of agriculture and the largest rural population in the world, the Chinese government has always highly emphasised the issues of agriculture, rural areas and farmers, and makes it one of the basic national policies to meet the population's basic needs and ensure food security,” Yiming said.
Yiming said China was now producing a quarter of the total global food supply on only 7% of the world's agricultural land.
He further said that rural populations are an important factor for all developing countries and that only when the majority of farmers become rich can poverty be resolved.
KENYA KAMBOWE
Yiming, who was speaking at drought response event at Rundjarara village in the Kavango East Region's Mashare Constituency, said most developed nations, including China, have invested heavily in their agriculture sectors where rural areas and farmers are key contributors to the economy, something that Namibia should emulate.
“It is our common hope that in the near future, the three regions, Kavango East, Kavango West and Zambezi, could be the granary of Namibia and change the present situation that 65% of food has to be imported,” Yiming said.
For years the three north-eastern regions have been regarded as the potential breadbasket of the country, especially because of the government irrigation projects established along the perennial Okavango River.
But the irrigation projects have not lived up to the expectations, which is why the lack of food security in Namibia has not been addressed.
Yiming shared how China transformed its agriculture during the past 70 years, saying that much emphasis was placed on food security by the government.
“As a country with a long history of agriculture and the largest rural population in the world, the Chinese government has always highly emphasised the issues of agriculture, rural areas and farmers, and makes it one of the basic national policies to meet the population's basic needs and ensure food security,” Yiming said.
Yiming said China was now producing a quarter of the total global food supply on only 7% of the world's agricultural land.
He further said that rural populations are an important factor for all developing countries and that only when the majority of farmers become rich can poverty be resolved.
KENYA KAMBOWE
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