The COVID-19 pandemic has taught Namibia to no longer rely on supplies of imported basic commodities and should seek the need to boost local agricultural production. This was said by the Minister of Agriculture, Water and Land Reform, Calle Schlettwein at a two-day market-led agriculture conference on Wednesday. Schlettwein said the pandemic and climate variability have negatively impacted economies around the world, noting that Namibia’s challenges are worsened by the fact that the agriculture sector lags far behind in the application of modern agricultural production and processing technologies. He emphasised that trading partner countries have imposed export restrictions and prohibitions of staple grain foods and other essential products such as medicines and medical equipment, stressing that hence as a country it can no longer rely on the export of basic commodities nor should feel secure in utilising monetary reserves to procure staple food imports to compensate for domestic food production shortfalls. “To make further progress towards this goal, we have to move away from the ‘us and them’ attitude. We have to act and stand together as at the same time stay open-minded and fight against xenophobia,” said the minister. He further said there is a need to recognize inefficiencies that have crept into the systems such as the productivity of the Namibian economy, which has been on the decline for the last 15 years, a decline that is evident in both private and public sectors. “Declining productivity means less efficiency, high production cost, weaker competitiveness. The big cogs that must be turned in the opposite direction to improve productivity are innovation, education, and skills development,” he said. Schlettwein noted that the agriculture sector (specifically agriculture, forestry, and fishing) registered another contraction of 2,6% in 2019 compared to a decline of 1,9% registered in 2018. He further noted that the Namibian economy is consumption-led, depending about 60% on public consumption, noting that as an economy that consumes what it does not produce in terms of finished goods and services and produces what it does not consume primary commodities, there is a need for structural reform and significant investments in the productive sector. The economy must be turned into an investment-led and an export-driven economy with domestic and regional value chains adding value to available raw materials. 'Quality finished goods and services should become our tradable products, not only primary goods,” said Schlettwein. The first of its kind in Namibia, the conference is held under the theme ‘Agriculture Fit for the Future - Robust, Resilient and Responsive’. -NAMPA