Namibia’s Sun newspaper reported on August 1 that Namibia’s Minister of Agriculture Kalle Schlettwein said that the country’s annual demand for food is 200,000 tons, while production is only 60,000 to 80,000 tons, and food is highly dependent on imports. Although 70 percent of the population depends on agriculture for its livelihood, only 27,000 hectares of farmland is suitable for irrigation, and only 11,000 hectares of it can be irrigated at present. Shih said eight agricultural irrigation projects will be developed by tender in the next six months, of which three feasibility studies have been completed. Shih noted that agriculture employs about 23 percent of the labor force and contributes between 5 and 7 percent of the gross domestic product. Its main components are livestock and horticultural agriculture, with production values of N$4.7 billion and N$3.52 billion, respectively.
Source: Economic and Commercial Section of the Embassy in the Republic of Namibia
Post time: Aug-16-2022