The Agro Marketing and Trade Agency (Amta) is warning that Namibia is producing more food but lacks the agro-processing capacity needed to preserve and market it.
Amta's monitoring and evaluation officer, Harbie Myambo, says the shortage of facilities is leading to waste, limiting farmers' earnings, and slowing efforts to achieve food security and industrialisation.
"Young farmers have potential. But as a government we do not have enough capacity.
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"We do not develop enough capacity in terms of value addition and agro processing. So that is the reality in the field," Myambo says.
He cites tomatoes as an example.
"A farmer produces two tonnes of tomatoes, they come to Amta, but there is no market because we are competing with the private sector.
"As a public entity of the government we sit there and things go bad," he says.
Myambo says value chains must be strengthened.
"Linking primary production with agro processing and value addition is key in terms of employment, in terms of poverty alleviation.
"It will even address the issue of rural-to-urban migration," he says.
Minister of agriculture, fisheries, water and land reform Inge Zaamwani-Kamwi says agro-processing is central to government strategy.
"Indeed agriculture is the number-one priority of the sixth National Development Plan (NDP6).
"And as such it requires all of us to participate in ensuring we increase food production, enhance productivity, and ensure agriculture continues to contribute to our gross domestic product," she says.
Zaamwani-Kamwi says the government will set up new infrastructure and absorb more young people in the sector.
"There is also room for their participation in the new industry that is listed in the NDP6 in terms of agro processing.
"We are required to set up 14 agro processing facilities in all the regions."
She says new trade deals are opening markets for Namibian products.
"We then sign protocols, trade protocols with several countries. Specifically we have signed recently with China. We have protocol with the Middle East for certain products.
"We have agreements to access the United Statea market, the European markets, and through those agreements we have then, our farmers have access to those international markets," Zaamwani-Kamwi says.
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