Vice President Netumbo Nandi-Ndaitwah says agriculture in Africa is expected to meet the dual objectives of providing food and helping people escape poverty.

Dr. Nandi-Ndaitwah further says that the agriculture sector can produce Africa's next billionaires.

Therefore, the Vice President calls on all young people countrywide to develop an interest in agriculture during a stakeholder engagement held at Omaruru. 

About 70% of the Namibian population depends on agricultural activities for livelihood, mostly in the subsistence sector.

The sector contributes around 5.1% of the GDP, of which 70% represents the output of the livestock subsector.

Nandi-Ndaitwah calls on farmers and businesses to embrace information technology to adopt resilience in terms of smart agriculture.
 
Smart Agriculture, the Vice President says, requires people to understand how the country can introduce new irrigation systems to reduce water usage in the sector.

"The ideal way, and this is now going back to agriculture, but if as a nation we all agree to develop production centres and processing centres, then you have now the balance between the outer part of the town, the rural areas or agricultural areas, and the town, so let the rural or agricultural areas become production centres and then the towns become processing centres. And then you will be able to grow the economy, and we will be able to create the necessary jobs."

She further says that the sector needs heavy machinery that is labour-intensive, and there needs to be balance to create jobs.

"If we really talk about agriculture to make sure that there is food security in the country, we have to invest to mechanise the sector and mechanise agriculture, which does not necessarily create jobs because machinery has to be used from the preparation of the land to the planning itself, and then when it comes to harvesting, however, it will ensure our food security, but there is another element of agriculture that is labour intensive, and that is where we are investing in horticulture."

Erongo Governor Neville Andre says that the ongoing drought is not only threatening food security but also the well-being and prosperity of the communities. 

"The situation has also been worsened by the successive droughts. To remedy the water crisis in the Erongo Region, I have constituted a Water Crisis Committee to look at short-, medium-, and long-term solutions to the water problem. This committee consists of the Erongo Regional Council, NAMWATER, Rural Water Supply, the Regional Directorate of Education, and the Regional Directorate of Works."

Andre believes that through collaborative efforts and shared knowledge, they can develop effective strategies to combat these pressing issues.