Rundu Rural Constituency Councillor Paulus Mbangu believes that lack of modernisation in the agricultural sector is one of the contributing factors to food insecurity in the country.

In an interview with nbc, Paulus Mbangu stated that agriculture plays a vital role in the lives of the people.

The agricultural sector, however, receives fewer funds from the national budget.

Mbangu says that in terms of the Maputo Declaration, which Namibia ratified and signed in 2003, 10% of the national budget must be allocated to agriculture.

"When you look at the allocation of the different ministries, the Ministry of Agriculture is being starved, and I think it's about time that we should, our leaders, especially our cabinet, open their eyes, and it's about time that we need to allocate more resources to agriculture because food is important. Literally, everything that we have in this country comes from agriculture, even clothing. Whatever we eat comes from the soil. It's about time that we must invest heavily in agriculture. It's about time that we must modernise our farming methods."

Mbangu emphasised that one can never go wrong with investing in agriculture, as it can be used as a source of income or just for family sustainability.

The councillor calls on the youth to participate in agricultural projects.

"You can never go wrong if you are studying agricultural fields because you can employ yourself. What you need is only land. Once you have land and the capital, you have the equipment. You can employ yourself. I can assure you that five years from now, these farmers here from this irrigation project will be good entrepreneurs and independent entrepreneurs."

Mbangu further stated that he is working on an idea to give agricultural training to 20 young people from each constituency in the region.

He says this will not only address the issue of food security in the country, but it will also reduce youth unemployment.