A 17-year-old schoolboy, Antonio Araeb, and his mother established a poultry business in 2021 by buying 30 one-day-old chicks at a subsidized price from the Ministry of Agriculture.
Araeb's love for farming started at Rooi Duine Secondary School, where he is currently studying agriculture as his main subject.
"The Ministry of Agriculture also assisted us with the food tray and the water tray, which you can see there, and now we are doing the poultry business, which is going well."
There are many agricultural businesses, such as Araeb's poultry, that are partially supported by the Ministry of Agriculture, Water, and Forestry's horticulture program and the poultry value chain development program.
With this assistance, Araeb's chickens increased to 53, producing about 46 eggs per day, which they sell to the schools, teachers, and the Aranos community.
"We deliver. We own a taxi. The customer just asks our taxi man to come fetch the eggs."
The exorbitant cost of chicken feed, which currently costs N$507 for a 50kg bag, is a challenge that could drastically reduce their chances of making a profit.
Meanwhile, the Ministry of Agriculture continues to support many interested individuals and communities in all regions.
"We have approximately 37 farmers who have benefited from this poultry project. In total, they ordered 631 of the Rockman brown layers, and they are doing quite well, as you can see. One of the challenges that he mentioned is that the layering mesh is expensive. He wants the government to do more. The government has done that already, they increased the subsidized price, so that is sorted, so with his dream, I'm sure we can help him; he must just come to the office, order more production stock, and if he needs guidance in a certain way, we are ready and available to guide him," assured the Ministry's Agricultural Head Technician at Aranos, Paulus Iita.
Araeb now plans to grow his business by expanding the chicken coop, with the support of the Agriculture Ministry.
"This is a very good business. This business can give you daily chores as a young person. You can get benefits from this business, and then you can get a daily income from this business, so just reach out your arm and start your own business. That's my encouragement to them."