The Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries, Water and Land Reform will spend about N$8 million to service and repair its tractor fleet.
This intervention is in preparation for the 2026/2027 ploughing season, where the ministry avails tractors, machinery and equipment to farmers to enhance agricultural production.
The Ministry of Agriculture has identified 508 tractors for servicing and repairs. Some 385 require minor servicing, while 112 require major repairs.
The servicing of tractors and agricultural implements will be carried out on-site at the respective Agricultural Development Centers across the country.
The estimated cost will cover the procurement of service parts, fuel, transport and other logistical arrangements necessary to ensure the successful implementation of the programme. Acting Executive Director in the Ministry of Agriculture, Patrus Canicius Nangolo, explained.
“So the repairs will be done by our own local people who are qualified diesel mechanics and employees of this ministry, which we are going to use. These employees are working at the agricultural technical center, which is currently in Rundu and Ongwediva.”
The second intervention focuses on improving farmers' access to appropriate agricultural machinery and equipment. The Ministry has acquired various types of farm machinery and equipment for sale to eligible farmers at subsidised prices.
These include hand-operated seedling transplants, jab seed drills for crop establishment, walking tractors, diesel chipper hammer mills, and animal weighing scales, among others.
“Its not going to be a tradition of bringing all these items to gather but its rather going to be done through this process the process of ensuring that there will be an application process, there will be application forms available at our offices, regional council and constituency what we need is the support of the local and regional leadership to ensure that this information is relayed to the communities to prepare themselves.”
These interventions, Nangolo said, form part of the Ministry's broader efforts to ensure that farmers are adequately supported ahead of the 2026/2027 ploughing season.