The minister of agriculture, water and land reform, Calle Schlettwein, has said the Zambezi region is underdeveloped for agricultural purposes, as there is no irrigation taking place.
Schlettwein said this while introducing the new NamWater board members in Windhoek on Monday.
He said Zambezi region could be one of the country’s biggest sources of food.
“We must step up to make these irrigation schemes sustainable and working again. We must revitalise them and build more,” Schlettwein said.
The minister said it is not only in the Zambezi region where no irrigation is taking place but in the Kavango regions as well.
“We have got 11 green schemes there. Big projects that can help us to become self-sustainable in many food commodities. It is your job as NamWater to make sure that there is no stopping of water to these irrigation schemes,” he said.
According to Schlettwein, if farmers are growing vegetables or grains and irrigation stops, it is disastrous.
He added that part of some brown fields (green schemes) have been given to the Ministry of Home Affairs, Immigration, Safety and Security to use.
Schlettwein said projects such as the Kalimbeza Rice Project failed, and there is a need to upgrade it.
“The infrastructure is still in a reasonable state, but I think the management must be changed,” Schlettwein said.
“We have to be thankful to the traditional authorities that indicated and made available a significant amount of land,” he added.
He said the Zambezi region green schemes have potential and the facilities only need upgrading.
“For the land we received from traditional authorities, we have to go through the procedures of the Communal Land Act to make that land part of the projects that are outside the designated fields of traditional authorities,” he said.
The minister said although the land has been made available, it takes a lot of time and money to develop.
“The Zambezi region is a very important region for agriculture and it’s an activity that will create jobs for the youth,” Schlettwein said.
EXPENSIVE NAMWATER ISSUE EXPLAINED
Schlettwein said NamWater is expensive due to the long distances that water has to travel and that Namibia is sparsely populated.
“That makes the consumption relatively low. The cost cannot be shared with many and, therefore, the per capita cost is very high,” he explained.
NamWater has to transport water over a long distance and pay high power costs in the regions.
“This sparsely populated country is the cause of the high cost, but we cannot add to the tariffs,” he said.
