Namibia is expected to harvest its first mass production of bananas by September this year.
This was announced by the Namibia Agronomic Board (NAB) during an interview with nbc News. According to the research by the NAB, bananas are second in domestic consumption in the country, with apples being number one.
The agronomic board is trying to determine whether it is possible to produce bananas in Namibia and whether they can be produced at a commercial level.
The plantation started in February last year in Kongola, Zambezi Region.
"We are trying from our end to determine whether it is possible to produce bananas in Namibia and to see if it is possible to produce at the commercial level. That is what we are investigating. We have a one-hectare plot that we planted in February, and we are expecting the first harvest in September or so. It takes about 15 months," explained Gilbert Mulonda, NAB General Manager for Agronomy and Horticulture Market Development.
Mulonda also added that horticulture is growing significantly.
The country is expecting about 11% production, and most local production is going for export. These include tomatoes, onions, butternut, peppers, grapes, and dates, among others.
However, the biggest bill of horticulture is fruits, which Namibia still imports. Roughly about 96% of our fruits are imported, with only 4% produced locally.
"There are 20 lines in that scheme. So in that scheme, we basically restrict imports whenever there is local production that is available. So our target was basically to move all the products above 60% local production, and we have achieved that for all those top 20 vegetable lines; we currently have above 80% local production for all of them. So the biggest import bill in terms of horticulture is fruits that we still import. So that is where the biggest opportunity is in terms of horticulture. So prices are slightly the same as last year. We haven't experienced quite a ridiculous price increase in the current financial year."
Mulonda foresees the horticulture import bill going up in terms of the domestic market. The country, he says, still relies on imports at the moment.