Namibian Agronomic Board officially a world-class regulator

By Freeman Ya Ngulu.

The Namibian Agronomic Board ( NAB) announced this week that it is now officially certified by the Namibian Standards Institution, as an ISO 9001:2015 Standards Certification organisation.

The Board also received its Global GAP approval as a Verification Body for local GAP Primary Farm Assurance (PFA) standards.

“The unconditional certification against ISO 9001:2015 that was awarded by the Namibian Standards Institution (NSI) is an internationally recognized standard that sets out requirements for the establishment, implementation, maintenance and continual improvement of a Quality Management System (QMS). This means that the NAB has adequate systems, processes, procedures and has trained staff to meet the requirements of the international standard. The standard further requires that an organization meets statutory requirements, legal requirements, as well as organizational strategic objectives,” the Board said in a statement issued after the certification ceremony.

Concurrently, the NAB has also received an approval from Global G.A.P as a verification body for local standards in Namibia. This means the NAB as a regulatory body can now inspect and certify local farms against the local specific standards for fruits and vegetables and these results can be entered in the a global database.

Local standards help local farmers to export their products to the SADC market. It is a key building block to achieve this specific certification standard for fruits and vegetables which can assist farmers who produce with a view to export to SADC countries.

The dual certifications are major milestones for the implementation of the NAB’s 5-year strategic plan.