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Namibia: Youth to Train in Mushroom Farming
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New Era (Windhoek)
8 May 2008
Posted to the web 8 May 2008
John Ekongo
Windhoek
The National Youth Council (NYC) in collaboration with the Agricultural Bank of Namibia (Agribank) will embark on a programme to train 65 young people from all regions in mushroom farming.
The youth body will coordinate the project with the assistance of the University of Namibia's Zero Emission Project.
During the handover on Tuesday of N$40 000, outgoing Secretary General of the NYC Juliet Kavetuna described the gesture by the bank as a noble cause which will go a long way in ensuring the self-sustainability of many young people.
The money will be used to cater for the training fees and facilities, accommodation for the trainees, meals and transportation.
Reagan Mwanzi, Head of Marketing, Communication and Research at Agribank, highlighted his company's involvement with the NYC as vital.
"Training of the youth in mushroom farming will not only provide lucrative agricultural opportunities to participants but will also diversify the economy and reduce imports. Agribank is happy to note that this initiative fully supports the first UN Millennium Development Goal which intends to eradicate extreme poverty and hunger by 2015," commented Mwazi.
He said the partnership between Agribank and NYC is in line with the call made by President Hifikepunye Pohamba to assist young people in attaining skills to compete in a modern economy.
Upon completion of the training, the NYC says, young people will return to their respective regions to embark on full-scale mushroom farming and they are expected to train other young people as well.
Mushroom farming is said to be low cost, requiring little land as well as water, which is a blessing for Namibia.
Mushrooms are fresh fungi used as food and even medicine. Though some are poisonous, those that are edible and medicinal can be of great value to the economy of the country.
Namibia imports most of its mushrooms from South Africa, which makes them quite pricey, with a packet of 200 grams varying between N$15 00 and N$20 00 in most supermarkets.
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The only time that mushrooms are available for most Namibians is during the rainy season, where the delicious omayova (Termitomyces), the popular wild variety is sold along the roads, as well as omatumbula (Kalahari truffles), which can be found in the Omaheke Region and some parts of the northern regions.
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