The Minister of Environment, Forestry, and Tourism has called on communal farmers to embrace food diversification to improve their livelihoods and the country's food security.
Pohamba Shifeta made the call when handing over the Climate Change Project to the |Huibes Conservancy in the Hardap Region.
The Climate Change Project, under the theme 'Integrated Wildlife and Sustainable Rangeland Management for Improved Livelihoods,' is funded by the Environment Investment Fund.
The |Huibes Conservancy received from the project two completed hydroponic gardens, more than two hundred goats, four hundred chickens, chicken feed, and chicken feeders.
"Let me emphasize to our farming communities that small farmers have the potential to contribute significantly to national food security as well as the national economic growth of this country. It is in our best interest to foster conservation of our natural resources through a community-based natural resource management system," said Shifeta, reiterating that Namibia targets to reduce greenhouse gases by 91% by 2030.
"We urged the developed nations that are not yet converted to ensure that we confront climate change and the challenges; we assure these nations to implement and make available accessible climate financing to the developing countries because these developing countries are at the receiving end and at the same time are the ones feeling the impact of climate change."
Also speaking at the occasion was Hardap Governor Salomon April.
"Thank you so much for thinking about these people of |Huibes, we are definitely so full of gratefulness, and just like we said a few minutes ago, we are going to be a model that we would want others to replicate."
"You heard what the minister said, the message was, what I gave you today, you must take it forward; it is a positive development you'll give us, so let us take hand together and try to make it truly a positive development to get more and more from him and from the ministry; I think it will not end today; it goes further and further," Huibes Conservancy Chairperson Agnes Kooper said.