Awarding the best in agronomy and horticulture
Eric van Druten from the Karst production zone has been named this year’s best producer for white maize at the annual Agronomy and Horticulture Awards (NAHA).The awards ceremony took place last Friday at the Mashare Irrigation Project in the Kavango East Region under the theme 'Promoting a resilient, sustainable and profitable crop industry'.
According to the Namibian Agronomic Board (NAB), the event was a resounding success, bringing together over 350 distinguished agronomy and horticulture crop value-chain actors, agricultural enthusiasts and stakeholders from across Namibia.
The ceremony honoured 42 outstanding participants across various categories, each walking away with well-deserved prizes in vouchers and certificates.
Remarkable contributions
Agriculture minister Calle Schlettwein said the awards ceremony aims to honour and recognise the remarkable contributions made by various value-chain actors towards the growth of the agronomy and horticulture industry in Namibia.
His speech was read on his behalf by acting director of agriculture, engineering and extension services, Erich Petrus.
“This event holds a special place in my heart, for it unites farmers, processors, traders and service providers from every corner of Namibia, enabling us to collectively celebrate the industry's monumental achievements. It serves as a vital platform for networking, sharing knowledge and drawing inspiration from one another.”
Schlettwein said Namibia's food self-sufficiency rate for staple food crops such white maize, pearl millet and wheat is projected to be below 26% for the 2023 harvesting season, a decrease from 38% when compared to the 2022 harvesting season.
This is mainly attributed to the severe drought experienced in the 2022/23 planting season, which mainly affected dryland crops such as white maize and mahangu.
Geopolitical challenges
Meanwhile, geopolitical challenges had substantial repercussions on Namibian farmers, processors and other stakeholders within the crop value chain.
Schlettwein said these challenges resulted in a significant spike in agricultural input costs, surging above 30% - mainly due increase in prices of seeds, agrochemicals, fuel and electricity.
“These cost increases, in turn, have had a discernible impact on the final product prices consumers encounter on store shelves.”
On a more positive note, the 2022 harvesting and marketing season witnessed a historic milestone for Namibia, with a record-breaking harvest of 98 824 tonnes of white maize grain, thus reducing imports by 52%, the minister noted.
Schlettwein added that in 2022, 36% of agronomy and horticulture local production - primarily consisting of horticultural products such grapes, onions, tomatoes, sweet peppers, butternuts, dates, blueberries and watermelons - is being exported to international markets.
“A significant milestone was reached in quarter one of 2023 with Namibia's inaugural soft citrus and grapefruit exports valued at N$15 million (424 tonnes), with zero rejection.”
Furthermore, blueberry production is on the rise, with about 71 hectares already in production at Mashare Irrigation Project and Komsberg along the Orange River, with plans to further expand, he said.
Standard for excellence
“It is with great pleasure that I extend my heartfelt congratulations to all 42 remarkable winners of the 2023 NAHA awards. Your dedication and outstanding contributions to the industry have set a praiseworthy standard for excellence," Schlettwein said.
Some other winners included Clemence Masasa Makumbi from the Zambezi production zone as the emerging white maize producer of the year, Ernst van Biljon from the Karst production zone as the outstanding wheat producer of the year and Floris Smith from Uvungu Vungu - Kavango East Region as the emerging wheat producer of the year.
Rudolf Steyn from the central zone was awarded the outstanding youth producer of the year.
See AgriMonitor’s Facebook page for the full list of winners.