O&L promotes food production north-east

The Ohlthaver and List Group of Companies and numerous other parties recently brought ‘Oshitemo’ to Uukwangali Chief Sitentu Mpasi.
The local community was invited to participate and approximately 400 people heeded the call and assisted in this initiative, including the Minister of Agriculture, Water and Forestry, John Mutorwa; and the Minister of Home Affairs, Rosalia Nghidinwa.
“When one takes Oshitemo to someone, it means that a group of volunteers weed the mahangu fields of an identified person as a friendly form of assistance and support. Unfortunately this is a dying culture and we at O&L, together with our EPIA partner are seeking to revive this culture. Not only does it contribute towards great nation building but ultimately also leads to staple food production and food security amongst our people,” Sven Thieme, executive chairman of the O&L group, explained.
“We want our nation to prosper and in line with this ideal we have introduced Oshitemo – to bring Oshitemo to our Epia member chiefs annually on a rotational basis to revive some of our good cultural practices of producing food. Our regional government plays a vital role in leading development in the regions, and therefore we are pleased to partner with our traditional leaders and local government through this initiative,” he added.
In his remarks, Chief Mpasi expressed his appreciation at the O&L Group for taking the initiative to revive this valuable heritage and tradition, and called on the youth to participate in these type of events so that they may not forget their roots and upbringing.
John Mutorwa, Minister of Agriculture, Water and Forestry, thanked O&L for consistently supporting government.
“I believe that the Oshitemo project did not just happen by chance. It was a concerted effort from O&L and a calculated approach which was necessitated by the increasing demand for innovation and out-of-the box thinking as some of the O&L operating companies export products and services to foreign markets,” he said.