Food must remain affordable – Schlettwein

Although Namibia is very vulnerable regarding food security, particularly grains and other staples, food must remain affordable in the country.

This was said by minister of agriculture, water and land reform Calle Schlettwein when he announced the new Namibian Agronomic Board (NAB) members last week.

“Welcome to an agricultural sector that is complex with great multiplier effects into the economy,” the minister said to the new board members.

He explained the objectives of the board as being to promote the agronomic industry and to facilitate the production, processing, storage and marketing of controlled products in Namibia.

“These are crops declared by the minister, by notice in the Gazette, to be agronomic crops,” he said.

Schlettwein said the declaration of agronomic crops is intended to intervene in the specific crop value chains with multiple objectives.

“They include improving production towards self-sufficiency and beyond, to develop support schemes for those producers, to maintain national food security and to keep food accessible and affordable,” the minister said.

Schlettwein said the powers of the new 10-member board, chaired by Hubertus Hamm, are wide-ranging, including all the fiduciary powers required to manage a statutory regulator, and specifically powers to manage declared agronomic products and the respective value chains.

In exercising these powers, the board has the responsibility, particularly in the context of the Namibian economy.

“We are still characterised as an economy that consumes what it does not produce and produces what it does not consume.

“This situation makes Namibia very vulnerable with regards to food security and hence our need to become food self-sufficient for basic food such as grains and other staple food,” he said.

The minister further said in addition, over 70% of the population depends on agriculture for a livelihood, while at the same time Namibia is ranked as the second most skewed economy, with great inequality income distribution.

“Agriculture and specifically the agronomic sector offers one of the best economic opportunities for job creation, for improved livelihoods and for youth employment. We need to focus our support on the thousands of small-scale horticultural and agronomic producers to improve their productivity, and the links and access to well-paying markets.”

Only then will we successfully bring about less inequality, with improved standard of living, he said.

He reminded the board it is dealing with a basic commodity that is essential for life and, therefore, the affordability of food must be pivotal in their considerations.

“No one may be hungry in our country and, therefore, food prices may never breach affordability thresholds. It is, thus, important for the board to strike the right balance in its exercise of its powers.

“This means, while promoting the development and growth of the entire Namibian agronomic sector value chains – from production, processing, marketing and distribution – the board must ensure that such growth and development is inclusive and empowering of the previously disadvantaged Namibians, the youth and women, and very importantly, food must remain affordable,” the minister said.

Schlettwein thanked the outgoing board, which was chaired by Michael Iyambo, for its extended term of service.

The other new NAB members are Marina Muller (vice chairperson – retained), Gerhard Engelbrecht, Peter Kawana, Salomo Mbai, Jacob Hamutenya, Sonja Molebugi, Maria Pogisho, Ruthy N Masake and Violet Simataa.

The board will serve for a three-year term.
– email: matthew@namibian.com.na