Outgoing Namibia Agricultural Union (NAU) president Pieter Gouws has called for cooperation among members rather than individualism if they are to leave a "good legacy".
He was addressing the 77th annual NAU congress in Windhoek on 4 October where Thinus Pretorius was elected NAU president, while Jaco van Wyk took over as the chairperson of the Livestock Producers Organisation.
Gouws said farmers are at the bottom of the national economy value chain and 70% of the population is directly and indirectly dependent on the agricultural value chain.
"We are at the mercy of external variables, such as weather conditions, minimal to no influence on product prices, worldwide attack on meat and meat products, the so-called methane gases from cattle and other ruminants," he said.
He also cited land reform actions and land use patterns that result in a definite change in the immediate environment, absentee landowners, increased pressure on rural security and disaster management, wildfires, pest control and predator/problem animal control.
"We also have to contend with foreign fortune seekers who want to plunder our natural resources and, on top of all this, virtually no government support," he said.
He said despite all these challenges, farmers continue to write stories of hope with their tenacity, determination, future vision, dreams and faith.
"However, these stories cannot be told in isolation and cannot achieve success if they are not done in an organised, structured manner. That is why this organisation - NAU - is so critically important," he added.
Gouws highlighted that the union had grown in the past five years and with it the "rejuvenation" of the organisation and farming community.
"The entry of the younger generation into farming will inevitably lead to various challenges, conflict situations and requires innovative thinking," he said, adding that during November, the NAU in collaboration with Landbou Weekblad and Theo Vorster of Galileo Capital, will offer three masterclasses in family farming at Keetmanshoop, Tsumeb and Okahandja.
This is part of NAU's capacity building for members and specifically successful young farmers.
Continuing on the subject of "good legacy", he announced several prizes to be awarded - ranging from an Agristar, Agriculture Woman of the Year, Community Project to Media Personality.
"None of the winners could have achieved this if they had operated in isolation, but each had a vision, calling or dream and I am sure none of them did it with the expectation of recognition, but to serve to making the environment a better place and empowering people with information," he said.
He warned farmers not to think changes are happening in Namibia alone and that international actions, seemingly occurring 'far' from Namibia, cannot have a massive impact on farmers' day-to-day activities.
"The Ukrainian-Russian war is a significant example of this.
The impact of the escalating refugee issues in the United States of America, United Kingdom and European Union may result in a reduced investment from these countries in southern Africa due to the economic downturn.
"Additionally, the expansion of the Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa (Brics) countries' alliance could also bring about a serious change in existing trade agreements, with consequent adjustments to regulations and requirements that may lead to a stronger negative sentiment from the EU towards southern Africa.
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"It is, therefore, vital that NAU membership to Southern Africa Confederation of Agricultural Unions (Sacau) be maintained. We must be part of this group and make our mark on issues that will directly affect us.
Times will certainly not get easier. On the contrary, the challenges are becoming more intense."
He said the recovery after the 2013-2019 drought was not yet achieved and the immense challenges regarding power supply to the agricultural sector in South Africa also has a serious negative impact on Namibian product prices and, therefore, economic recovery.
Gouws said repeated requests to the land reform ministry for corrected land tax assessments and timely issuance of new assessments have so far been unsuccessful.
He appealed for an extension for the settlement of these assessments.
- email: matthew@namibian.com.na
