WINDHOEK– Poultry farming plays a very important part in the Ohangwena Region where 98 percent of the population of 245 446 people live in rural areas and depends on subsistence farming as their main source of income.
Poultry projects therefore make a significant contribution to family nutrition. This is the message from the Deputy Director, Rural Development in the Ohangwena Regional Council, Naapopye Ndeitwa, after she acted as key-note speaker during the recent hosting of a poultry farmers’day by the Namibian Small Scale Poultry Production Association (NSSPPA) at Oshali in the Onhangwena Region. Small scale poultry producers from about 180 communities attended the event.
Ndeitwa says the initiative by the NSSPPA contributes to the improvement of rural peoples’ standard of living and cement that they can take charge of their own development. “Rural development is complex and covers nearly all sectors in order to respond to a variety of situations and issues affecting the lives of rural communities,” she tells Farmers Forum. Ndeitwa adds that it is important to gather broader information on how to raise poultry as well as production methods. “Poultry is known as a good source of food from eggs and meat, with numerous benefits when it comes to business. Therefore, many people are nowadays venturing into the poultry industry,” she notes.
According to her, it does not require high capital to start such a business, nor does it require a big space and poultries normally do not need high maintenance. “However, one needs to take good care of the animals in order to minimise disease and illness by following proper hygiene and care. The advantage of this business is that it delivers high returns on investments in a short period of time. Poultry provides fresh and nutritious food and has a huge global demand and it ads fertilizer to your gardens,” she says.
Ndeitwa says such initiatives contribute towards achieving Vision 2030 through the economic priorities of NDP4, which is agriculture and manufacturing, as a result it creates employment for rural people. “The agriculture sector is one of the backbones of the Namibian economy as it plays a significant role in transforming the economy,” she stresses.
She further hopes that the initiative by Tauno Shikomba, Director of Operations and Special Projects of the Konga Trading Enterprises, will grow to the level of manufacturing, which include packaging and feather production. “The poultry industry is in its infant stage. I therefore urge everyone involved to work hard and promote competitiveness. Government has tightened poultry imports in order to protect local producers and suppliers and now is the time to make use of the opportunities,” she notes.
“I encourage the rural communities not to rest until we have buried socio-economic problems facing us. Individually and together, we can eradicate poverty, unemployment, under-development and in the same breath, work ceaselessly toward achieving self-sufficiency in food production. Let us all work without counting the hours and let us take risks and constantly adapt to climate, markets and in today’s world; technology and regulations,” she concludes.
Caption: Naapopye Ndeitwa, Deputy Director for Rural Development on the Ohangwena Regional Council addressing poultry producers during the recent farmers’ day at Oshali. Picture: Contributed