Kunene: Irema project assessed
Stakeholders undertake field mission
The visits demonstrated to committee members the progress on the ground while providing them with the opportunity to offer remedial support, the EIF said.
An assessment of the Irema project, which assists in improving rangeland and ecosystem management practices for Kunene Region smallholder farmers under conditions of climate change, was recently concluded.The areas of focus were Sesfontein, Fransfontein and Warmquelle, and the project forms part of the Environmental Investment Fund of Namibia’s (EIF) green climate fund (GCF).
The project’s steering committee members and senior management from the agriculture ministry undertook a week-long field mission to project sites to familiarise themselves with updates.
According to the EIF, these visits were necessitated to demonstrate to committee members the progress on the ground while providing them with the opportunity to assess the impact and offer remedial support.
The trip was combined with field exposure visits and familiarisation with selected project activities.
“The aim was to ensure committee members and executives from the ministry have a practical picture on ground level of the project outputs, an insight of the project impact and hold engagements with various stakeholders and beneficiaries of the project,” it said.
Engagement
According to EIF, the team visited the Fransfontein Community Garden, a small stock revolving fund beneficiary and a rehabilitated borehole at Springbokvlakte.
They assessed project sites at the Sesfontein Community Garden, Warmquelle and Khowarib green schemes.
They also held an engagement meeting with Kunene governor Marius Sheya.
The office of the Kunene regional governor is a key stakeholder towards the effective implementation of all EIF-funded projects in the region, it added.
The delegation and Sheya engaged on the various impacts of project interventions and opportunities for future cooperation.
Investment
The EIF, in collaboration with the agriculture ministry, implements the GCF-funded Irema project.
The initiative was approved in 2018 and commenced in 2019, with a completion date of February 2024.
The investment for this project amounts to N$172.1 million, with government’s contribution to the tune of about N$13 million.
Some of its notable activities include the development of an early warning system for disaster risk management, solar-retrofitting and rehabilitation of selected boreholes/water points, development of backyard gardens and rehabilitation of Warmquelle and Khowarib green schemes.
As a standard process, the aim of project steering committee meetings is to have a platform where members interrogate and discuss issues pertaining to project implementation and make harmonised decisions for accurate implementation of project activities.
Among the discussions held, the committee deliberated on the sustainability of the two projects beyond their implementation periods, and the challenges facing their effective sustainability.
The committee members further deliberated on the incorporation of the projects into the agriculture ministry’s annual work plans for ease of implementation and execution.