The manufacturer of a controversial livestock feed supplement made from sheep's wool has withdrawn the product for use in animals, he said this week.
This comes after The Namibian alerted the Namibia Agricultural Union of an advertisement for a 'fertiliser' made from sheep's wool that has been promoted among farmers as an animal feed supplement.
The product, named 'Organic Karakul Fertiliser', is produced and marketed by Otjiwarongo-based company Inventec Nam.
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The producer of the fertiliser, Johan Theron, defended the product, saying it is an organic fertiliser which contains no hormones. Theron also said he has discontinued its use for livestock.
"We are once again doing professional research and tests on this fertiliser, using a professional person in Namibia. Until I receive his results, I have discontinued my fertiliser as far as animal use is concerned," he said.
Theron said he had informed the agricultural union of the withdrawal of the product and the ongoing research.
He said he had undertaken to inform the union "as soon as I receive the results on the research on our fertiliser, to send you and all newspapers a copy of the results".
The union's commodities analyst for livestock, Rina Hough, told The Namibian last month that the union had no knowledge of the use of this product in feed but was investigating it.
"While we are not aware of any confirmed incidents involving the use of fermented sheep wool liquids in cattle feeding practices, we acknowledge the concerns raised by recent alleged reports," Hough said. "The Livestock Producers' Organisation (LPO) is currently investigating."
She added that the LPO strongly condemned the use of any unregistered or unapproved substances in animal feed.
In August the Namibia Statistics Agency reported that the annual export value of beef was N$297 million.
This figure represents a slight fall compared to the revised value of N$304 million reported the previous month.
The Meat Corporation of Namibia (Meatco) has received no confirmed reports on the use of the product.
Meatco acting chief executive Albertus Aochamub last month said the corporation had not received verifiable evidence that any approved cattle producers or feedlot operators under its supply network are using a product labelled organic Karakul fertiliser manufactured by Inventec.
However, he said the "interesting" media reports indicated that the regulatory authorities, including the directorate of agriculture, engineering and extension, should be informed.
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Under their contractual obligations, "we require all producers to declare inputs used in production and to notify Meatco of any novel inputs. No such formal declarations have been received for this product," Aochamub said.
It is understood that Meatco and its veterinary inspectors have not yet conducted targeted sampling.
However, the corporation's veterinary inspection and residue-monitoring programme includes routine sampling for regulated veterinary drugs and known residues.
University of Namibia animal production, agribusiness and economics lecturer John Mupangwa says organic Karakul fertiliser is not registered as an animal feed, but rather, as its name suggests, a fertiliser.
"The feeds that are legal as animal feeds are all registered by the agriculture ministry, and this register can be accessed if you want the actual names of the feeds," he says.
Mupangwa adds that approved animal feeds can be obtained from Feedmaster, the country's largest animal feed manufacturer.
The lecturer says farmers currently using registered feed face no problems when it comes to exporting their products.
"However, the unregistered feed may need to be investigated by the department of veterinary services to assess the impact on exports. The custodians of Namibian feed laws should act on illegal feeds."
The Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries, Water and Land Reform did not respond to questions last month.
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