Sinikka Antila, EU Ambassador to Namibia officially handed over Information Technology (IT) Equipment valued at N$4.5 million to the Ministry of Agriculture, Water and Land Reform on Friday, 10 June 2022. The equipment is procured under the Livestock Support Programme in the Northern Communal Areas (LSP) of Namibia funded by the European Union through the Eleventh 11th European Development Fund (EDF 11) to the tune of 20 million Euros or 284 million Namibian Dollars.
The overall objective of the LSP is to promote entrepreneurship and enhance the livelihood of NCAs livestock farming communities in a sustainable way, while improving the performance of livestock value chain in the NCA. The programme further aims to improve the performance of the livestock value chain in the NCA. Eight (8) regions in the NCAs will benefit from the programme: Kunene (North of Veterinary Cordon Fence), Omusati, Oshana, Oshikoto, Ohangwena, Kavango West, Kavango East and Zambezi.
In her statement at the handover event, Ambassador Antila said that the handover is a clear testimony of effective collaboration between the Government of the Republic of Namibia and the European Union. “We are happy to see the Livestock Support Programme beginning to deliver tangible results, and we anticipate that this will be the beginning of a long series of similar events between the Namibian government and the EU, within the contexts of this important programme,” she said.
Accepting the IT Equipment on behalf of the Agriculture Ministry, Ndiyakupi Nghituwamata, Acting Executive Director noted that the agriculture sector remains central to the lives of the majority of the Namibian population. “The sector directly and indirectly supports over 70 percent of the country’s inhabitants for sustenance, incomes and livelihoods,” She explained.
Nghituwamata concluded by thanking the European Union for complementing Government’s efforts towards improving the performance of the livestock value chain in the Northern Communal Areas.