The agriculture ministry has set aside N$5 million for the poultry value chain development scheme in all 14 regions.
The allocation translates into a reduction of N$500 000, compared to the previous year.
In the 2023/2024 FY, the programme received N$5.5 million for all 14 regions and benefitted 1 110 beneficiaries.
This was announced by deputy agriculture minister Anna Shiwedha while motivating the ministry's budget for the 2024/2025 financial year (FY) earlier this week.
At the onset, Shiwedha indicated that the poultry sector is an integral part of the family system in rural Namibia. The programme aims to provide poultry producers an entry point to diversify their income and create employment opportunities through training. "The scheme will further address the following, among others, introduce rural women and youth into sustainable market-oriented poultry-rearing activities, enhance the productivity of indigenous breeds, and enhance food and nutrition security of rural populations," Shiwedha said.
Shiwedha added that the programme will also create job opportunities for rural poultry producers, thereby reducing income inequality.
"It is a programme with great potential to create jobs and eradicate poverty at the household level," she said. Poultry farmer Willem Amutenya said the poultry value chain initiative has made a significant impact on the industry's growth, particularly in rural Namibia.
Amutenya has seen many unemployed young people, including graduates, starting their poultry businesses with capital support from the funds.
"I have been looking forward to an increase in its budget, and the whole programme reviewed to target business expansion. As a government, we should prioritise poultry farming to fight youth unemployment and ensure food security in times of high unemployment and increased food prices," the farmer-cum-politician said. Meanwhile, Oshikoto youth forum chairperson Martin-Olembe Antindi expressed disappointment with the ministry's decision to slash the allocation by half a million.
Therefore, he said, "reduction in this allocation is a direct impact on the young people, decreasing opportunities for the youth to venture into poultry farming, which is the most basic farming scheme young people can do."
