MeatCo conducted a strategic review and planning session for the year ahead at Katima Mulilo. 

During the session, MeatCo Interim Chief Executive Officer Albertus !Aochamub highlighted that despite Namibia meeting all set protocols by importing countries, there is still a problem with supply. 

"Namibia on the African continent, as I have said, meets all of the stringent requirements year in and year out, which is a good opportunity we have. The biggest challenge, and this is part of our focus for next year, is how do we ensure that we have more farmers selling to MeatCo so that we can increase our throughput into our abattoirs?  Our biggest challenges in the past, in how we have lost the relationship with the farmers, had to do with the fact that we did not pay the farmers on time, and that as we stand up till November of 2025, every farmer that has sold livestock to Meatco is paid up to date. The farmers that have sold in December and in January, we will resolve that before we start the new financial year," remarked Aochamub.

!Aochamub noted that the office of the Prime Minister (OPM) has not yet settled a debt of N$28.1 million incurred during the drought relief programme, which has further diminished farmer's confidence.

"How MeatCo was mobilised to play its part in the drought relief programme that was administered by the office of the prime minister in the prior year; as we stand, the office of the prime minister still has not settled twenty-eight point one million dollars. Which money does not belong to MeatCo? It belongs to the producers from whom we had procured all of this livestock that kept Namibians alive during the drought period."

He indicated that the Cabinet had last year resolved to support communal farmers by establishing an equalisation fund to be administered by Meatco, however, those funds are yet to be allocated. 

He added, "The cabinet decided N$100 million will be allocated to that fund. MeatCo will administer that fund, and the objective is simple. As I have said, we have to narrow the gap between what we pay commercial farms south of the red line and what we pay communal farmers north of the red line so that that price is equalised, and this N$100 million to be allocated and administered by Meatco has not been allocated; it's not in our coffers."