The Ministry of Agriculture, Water and Land Reform is yet to announce the winner of the tender to manage the Ndonga Linena green scheme.
Bids were submitted in 2022.
The scheme two years ago requested the Kavango East Regional Council to pump over N$80 million into the irrigation farm.
Ndonga Linena Agri Foods director Leon Tjihero says the ministry has, however, failed to pronounce the green scheme’s status and to provide feedback on a bid winner.
“Bidding closed on 16 December 2022. We hoped to get a response, so we wrote a letter to the ministry in July.
The ministry responded after seeking legal advice from the attorney general,” he says.
Tjihero says Ndonga Linena Agri Foods aimed to create jobs, support small- and medium-scale farmers and provide training.
“What are the legal issues the attorney general’s office cannot resolve or inform us about as investors? Why should it take so long to give us feedback?” he asks.
Tjihero says the green scheme is not satisfied with the ministry.
Ministry spokesperson Regina Valombola says green scheme projects aim to boost agricultural production and attract both private and public sector investment to ensure food security and self-sufficiency.
Valombola says the ministry prepared 700ha of land at Ndonga Linena for the production of summer crops such as maize this month.
This reflects a strong commitment to maintaining agricultural productivity while finalising the lease agreement between the ministry and a successful bidder, she says.
“Currently, the green schemes are funded by the government.
Therefore, the ministry’s priority is to ensure Namibia becomes self-sufficient by focusing on producing what we consume locally,” Valombola says.
President Nangolo Mbumba visited Kavango East and West regions’ green schemes last Wednesday to familiarise himself with progress amid the country’s severe drought.
He urged them to produce more to mitigate food scarcity.
During his visit, farm managers highlighted the challenges they are faced with, such as crop theft, high electricity bills, a lack of equipment and fence boundaries being vandalised.
“We cannot continue begging for food from other nations.
Therefore, we should repair the machines or replace them to produce food. We have enough land to farm on and to expand the current green schemes,” Mbumba said.
He emphasised strong cooperation between regional leaders and green schemes to produce more than expected.
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