Zambezi farmers trained in organic agriculture

The Namibia Nature Foundation (NNF) and the Namibia Organic Association (NOA) are training 30 small-scale farmers in the Zambezi region on the Multiplier Support Programme (MSP).

The year-long programme is being held through the Knowledge Hub for Organic Agriculture in Southern Africa (KHSA) project to promote the adoption and scaling-up of agroecology and organic agriculture in the region.

According to a statement issued by NNF, the need for the MSP in the Zambezi region arose out of socio-economic and environmental challenges.

These include limited use of natural products such as manure and mulch, low productivity, maize monoculture, limited government and non-governmental organisation extension efforts, and land degradation.

“These all pointed to a need for more flexible extension efforts to allow for practical implementation of low-cost, sustainable agriculture,” said the NNF.

The MSP curriculum includes farming with nature and permaculture design in addition to participants learning about the importance of life goals and financial management, as well as learning and teaching approaches to ensure effective sharing of information.

There are also home assignments –personal practice of new material, an investment exercise and information sharing events.

“It gives us knowledge on how to keep our soil fertile and it’s a cheap way of farming,” said an MSP participant.

The MSP is one of the KHSA activities to promote increased organic agriculture practice inside and outside communal area conservancies in the Zambezi region.

The KHSA is a collaborative country-led partnership funded by the German Federal Ministry of Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ) and implemented by the GIZ.

MSP participants include individuals from freelance networks, as well as staff of different organisations working in agricultural extension, who were identified through previous training events and from referrals.

They can be lead farmers in nine conservancies, local church groups and from Namibian Red Cross Society programmes.

According to the NNF, the ultimate goal is to develop socially and economically desirable employment opportunities for the multipliers who are hired by different agencies.

Through a sister project, the NNF hired five multipliers, local women from peri-urban Katima Mulilo, to train farmers in agroecological and organic crop and vegetable production in the Sikunga conservancy on the east Zambezi floodplain, said NNF.

– email: matthew@namibian.com.na