Agribank rolls out training material on farming practices
The Agricultural Bank of Namibia has unveiled virtual training material on specified farming practices, aimed at transferring knowledge and skills to farmers, to enhance farming productivity country wide.
The virtual training videos focus on five farming practices: poultry production, farm infrastructure, rangeland management, livestock production, as well as crop and horticulture production.
The virtual training material was introduced by the Bank on Friday in line with its agri advisory services function, whose long-term goal is to inspire positive attitudes in farmers towards agribusiness to improve productivity.
Speaking during the launch, Agribank executive manager for marketing and customer strategy Regan Mwazi stated “due to the disruptive nature of Covid19 on all elements of doing business, the Bank had to comeup with matching solutions to remain relevant to our stakeholders”.
Agribank’s agri advisory services mandate is promoting sustainable agricultural business ventures, while also building business relationships between clients, potential clients and the Bank, he further stated.
The training materials were developed with the support of the DeutscheGesellschaftfürInternationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ), adding to other platforms through, which Agribank shares agricultural knowledge.
Currently, the Bank uses a series of article publications in local newspapers and online interventions, such as the Agri-Learn Podcast, and tips of the week that can also be found on Agribank’s social media platforms such as YouTube, Facebook, Instagram, Spotify, Donlu Africa and Apple podcasts.
Therefore, Agribank encourages the public and especially the youth to tune in to such platforms and subscribe.
Officiating at the launch, the Chairperson of the Otjozondjupa regional council, Marlayn Mbakera, called on the farmers and the public at large to embrace the virtual training materials in their farming approach.
“Farming offers endless opportunities and, therefore, do not back away from exploring such opportunities due to lack of knowledge; use these materials to equip yourselves and conquer the endless opportunities in farming,” she stressed.
Since its establishment in 2017, the agri advisory services function of the Bank have benefitted 36 013 agripreneurs, of which 70% are smallscale farmers based in communal/ rural areas of the country, while 120 clients of the Bank are being mentored.
Going forward, the Bank has embarked on initiatives to roll-out intensive training programmes across all regions, hence the launch of the virtual training materials. - AgriBank