Otjozondjupa Governor John ||Khamuseb has said his region will focus on reviving food security to feed not only the region but also Namibia.
He said this when delivering the maiden State of the Region address in Otjiwarongo today.
||Khamuseb said the council will work hard to buy farms around the three big reservoirs in Okahandja and work on agricultural projects.
Land will also be availed to individual farmers, with a focus on the region's maize triangle area of Otavi and Grootfontein.
"We are blessed with water and fertile soil in this region. In Okahandja, we have big reservoir dams of Gross Barmen, Swakoppoort Dam, and Von Bach Dam; hence, we need to buy all farms around Okahandja town and work on agriculture, horticulture projects, orchard farming, and poultry and egg production. We must at least cater to one hectare of land for individual farmers; the same applies to Otavi with the Otavi fountain and Kombat, where we can extract water from the Kombat mine. Grootfontein is surrounded by fertile soil and fountains. I would like to encourage horticulture activities in the abovementioned towns for food security."
Highlighting the sector's successes during the period under review, ||Khamuseb says the directorate supported 824 households with subsidised agricultural inputs under the Dry Land Crop Production Programme and the Namibia Agriculture Mechanisation and Seed Improvement Project.
"Through the Dry Land Crop Production Programme, a combined 432 households benefited from subsidised mechanised tillage, planting, and weeding services covering 973 hectares during the last cropping season. This reflects a 226-hectare increase, attributed to improved rainfall and an expansion of government tractors from 8 to 18 in the region. Under the Small Stock Distribution and Development in Communal Areas, the Ministry of Agriculture distributed 483 goats to 23 vulnerable households in the Okakarara, Tsumkwe, and Omatako constituencies."
The region is also piloting the Dairy Value Chain Development Scheme to boost milk production and modernise rural dairy farming.