Schlettwein: Green schemes need improvement
RUACANA – Agriculture minister Calle Schlettwein said most of the green schemes in the Omusati region are under- producing due to management issues and are in need of improvement.
Schlettwein said this on Sunday during his visit to the agricultural green scheme projects at Etunda.
Etunda is the region’s main green scheme project, where several small-scale farmers are engaged in the production of, among others, maize and vegetables. It is where an asparagus plantation, introduced by a Spanish company in 2017, is located.
“You need to improve your production to be able to pay your input,” Schlettwein said speaking to journalists during his visit to the asparagus factory at Ruacana, adding that the management should be able to know what is expected to be done on the farm.
Regarding the asparagus plantation, Schlettwein said it is a commendable initiative as it is diversifying production, adding value to the product and it has secured a good market in Europe.
“We hope it will plough back into the economy and eventually create job opportunities for our people,” cited the minister.
The asparagus project has employed 17 permanent workers and is of the capacity to give work to 400 casual workers during harvest time. “Our main market is Europe, but there is room for the product (asparagus) to be introduced to local people to become aware of it before we start supplying the local market,” said the project’s technical officer, Giel Boshoff, whilst speaking to journalists during Schlettwein’s visit. Boshoff pointed out that Namibia is the only country producing asparagus in Africa, while other countries in the world are Spain, Peru, Argentina and China.