About 500 farmers in the Kavango East region received agricultural tools and inputs valued at N$2.6 million from the Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) alongside the Ministry of Agriculture, Water and Land Reform at Rundu on Monday.
The Japanese government, through the embassy of Japan in Namibia, funded the initiative.
Speaking during the official handover of the agricultural tools, FAO representative in Namibia Qingyun Diao said the event signifies the ongoing efforts to combat the devastating effects of climate change and food insecurity in Namibia.
“As we hand over these agro inputs, we are not only providing essential resources but also empowering our communities to build resilience and adapt to the growing challenges facing the agrifood sector,” she said.
FAO and its partners remain committed to strengthening the resilience of smallholder farmers and vulnerable households, particularly those in regions that were hardest hit by the El Nino induced drought, she said.
Diao said the government of Japan availed N$14 million for the period of April 2024 to March 2025 to scale up FAO’s resilience-building interventions in the Ohangwena, Kavango East and Kavango West regions.
Each of these regions is set to receive agro inputs valued at N$2.6 million ensuring that more farmers benefit from climate-smart agricultural practices.
Speaking at the same event, ambassador of Japan to Namibia Shinichi Asazuma said under this project, FAO and its partners will distribute agro inputs such as seeds, gardening tools, water tanks, small-scale solar powered irrigation equipment, chickens, chicken feed and material for construction of chicken houses to farming households.
“Our collective actions must be geared towards bringing about the practical and tangible solutions to achieve these national aspirations,” he said.
Asazuma said as part of the implementation of the project, skills transfer opportunities as well as capacity building interventions are prioritised.
On his part, Kavango East governor Bonny Wakudumo said the country went through challenging drought the past couple of years and as a result, many of the subsistence farmers were not able to harvest enough from their fields.
Wakudumo encouraged farmers to work hard towards food self-sufficiency with the tools received from Japan, FAO and its partners.
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