Kavango West Governor Sirkka Ausiku has applauded farmers for keeping to the vision for the region to become agriculturally active and self-sufficient.

Ausiku addressed the Kavango West Farmers Union's second ordinary congress at Nkurenkuru.

Ausiku says that as the youngest region, the leadership saw it fit to strengthen its agricultural status.

In 2017, the Farmers Union was established to help reach this vision.

"I would like to appreciate your commitment and afford that, as a government, we will support our journey to make Kavango West a food basket, and I will agree with the president of the African Development Bank, who said future millionaires and billionaires for Africa will come from the agriculture sector. We know we are a farming unit, and it was important for us to organise our farms. We did that because we know if our farmers are not well organised, our region cannot develop well."

The governor advised that for the region's economic status to improve, industries such as agriculture, manufacturing, and tourism should be considered key focus areas.
       
Ausiku said that the government has already begun responding to the farmers' needs.

Access to roads, in particular, she says, is a matter the government is actively solving to help improve access to markets.

"The government has started to respond to your request to construct some fid roads in the inland to facilitate access to better roads for our farmers. The Charlie cutline road has commenced, and I think we have taken around 60 to 80 kilometres that have been gravelled. It will not happen the way we want it, but the most important thing is that the government has started to respond to your request."

She further encouraged farmers to make use of the MeatCo abattoir at Rundu.

The chairperson of the union, Sabina Mufenda, encouraged fellow farmers to put in more effort and not let challenges get ahead of them.

The farmers are the bread basket of this country; however, we need to work very hard to improve our productivity and to compete with other farmers. Despite the many challenges that farmers are experiencing, we should always remember that agriculture forms the basis for food security and supports sustainable living."

During the congress, Hausiku Johannes was selected as the Chairperson of the Union, deputised by Kantema Theresia.