Horticulture is the future says Kavango West Regional Governor
The region can rid itself of the ‘poorest region’ tag if more residents can participate in the horticulture space, said Kavango West Regional Governor, Sirkka Ausiku.
She said this at the regional small-scale horticulture award ceremony at Klein Musese Garden in the Musese constituency on 31 July.
The Kavango West Regional Council said the award ceremony saw Martin Ihemba awarded the best small-scale horticulture farmer, with Paulus Muhepa as the runner up
“Ihemba received a trophy, certificate, and gardening tools worth N$10000, while Muhepa received a certificate and tools worth N$5000, the tools were sponsored by Agri-Bank,” said the Council
Ihemba vowed to work even harder with the new equipment he received and called on his fellow youth to not sit idle at home but to involve themselves in such activities, saying his recognition is a testament that when the government sees progress, it can always meet you halfway.
“To all my fellow youth, let us work hard and we will get rewarded for our efforts, let us learn to collaborate, if you see someone trying something, let us come near and learn,” he urged.
Ausiku reiterated that the Kavango West has vast fertile land and abundant water and residents of the region should take advantage of this and partake in horticulture. There are huge economic rewards in agriculture in general and horticulture in particular, has a huge potential to transform lives of the our residents if taken seriously.
She said if they can do this, the label of the Kavango West being the poorest region will soon be a thing of the past, and this is not only a gateway to riches for the residents but is also key for food security for the region.
She highlighted that the breakout of COVID-19 demonstrated why it is important for everyone to produce their food because the restrictions on movement left a strain on the food distribution chain and it is thus a wake-up call to the region to produce their food.
“COVID-19 is a lesson that food production is important, if that happens again, everyone will be left in their regions and will need their food to survive. The Awards to the farmers serve as a token of appreciation for their hard work and dedication towards food production, and farmers should also work hard and keep their gardens green all year long and should diversify in what they plant,” she said.
“My task here today is to come and then our youth on behalf of the government for a job well done, we want our gardens to be green throughout the year,” she added.
Mpungu Constituency Councillor, Titus Shiudifonya expressed his concerns on how capable young people do not see the abundant opportunities within their region especially in the agricultural sector, saying that instead of taking advantage of these opportunities, young people migrate to other regions for employment, doing the same thing they could have done in their region to sustain themselves.
“We have capable young people who know, but instead of starting their gardens and doing things for themselves, they rather go to other regions seeking employment to work in gardens and get paid peanuts. We have water and land available, why are you not doing this in your region?” he concluded.
