As part of its programme to empower smallholder farmers and local organisations to produce food, the World Food Programme (WFP) will launch a crop planting and pilot food systems project at the Namibia Correctional Services at Mariental tomorrow.

According to a statement issued by WFP country director and representative George Fedha, this is part of the United Nations' strategy to transition its developmental approach from a food hand-out model to enabling smallholder farmers and local organisations to produce food.

Another event is scheduled to be held in the Oshikoto region on Friday.

In 2022, the Oshikoto Regional Council, the Ministry of Gender Equality, Poverty Eradication and Social Welfare in partnership with WFP, launched the Ondera Resettlement Farm Integrated Food Systems Project, and for the first time piloted wheat with immense success.

The Oshikoto Regional Council, in collaboration with the ministry and WFP, will hold the second phase and launch of the cropping activities at the Ondera farm on Friday.

"This is part of WFP's ethos to assist Namibia in her journey towards zero hunger by 2030. This strategy is vital in transforming food systems, enhancing livelihoods and improving socio-economic outcomes for Namibian households," said Fedha, who added that several other partners including Lithon Consulting and the Impact For Africa consulting are also involved in the project.

The NCS and WFP, among their several mandates, serve a similar ethos to scale up food production by introducing more innovative agricultural practices for the transformation of surrounding rural communities through innovation.

"This includes scaling up market-based practices that improve household level economies," said the statement which added that the two events will be graced by prominent stakeholders including WFP's regional director for southern Africa Menghestab Haile.