The Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries, Water and Land Reform is planning to revive a technology centre in Rundu that has been largely ineffective over the years.

The centre is intended to drive and monitor a comprehensive agricultural mechanisation management system to support Green Scheme irrigation projects and subsistence farmers across the country.

Officials from the ministry were in Rundu this week for a stakeholder engagement meeting to explore ways of reviving the centre, which was established in 2015 at a cost of N$36 million.

Director of Agricultural Production Ben Haraseb said it was important to review the deployment strategy of the technology centre and assess what was available on the ground.

“It is very crucial for us to relook at the strategy of the deployment under this technology centre and, hence, the stakeholders that are here; we know that we have done the assessment in terms of the revival of the technology centre. Looking forward to what is available at the technology centre, provided that we have many pieces of equipment and tools that are available at our disposal and what gaps we need to fill for us to be able to carry out our functions as the technology centre,” Haraseb said.

The aim of the centre was to provide services such as repairs, maintenance, and manufacturing of agricultural machinery to support Green Scheme projects and local farmers.

“We are also looking at expanding the mandate in terms of providing services to the various stakeholders. Whether it is an individual farmer or individuals who want to be assisted through the technology centre. We are willing to do that. That will then enable the centre to be profitable and be able to stand on its own in terms of revenue generation and have its own income and not depend on the government,” Haraseb said.

The MICT team also spoke to farmers, who welcomed the plans but raised concerns about the need for technical expertise.

Maxwell Nghidinwa, acting manager of the Sikondo Green Scheme, said the meeting was aimed at finding a strategic plan that would make the centre relevant and responsive to community needs.

He said communities should make use of the centre for technical support and spare parts, noting that the store rooms contained spare parts that could fit several tractor models.

Farmer Amulungu Katumbe said the main challenge was the lack of expertise to operate the machines.

“The only problem that we are encountering is that the expertise is not available to operate the machines, which I will advise the government and the centre to look at so we can be able to get all the expertise, the engineers that function on the machines," Katumbe said.

The centre is expected to reopen within three months.