The Agriculture, Water, and Land Reform Ministry brought together management from all 14 regions to review major activities and performance in the first quarter of this financial year.

Ministry officials are gathered at Oshakati for a week-long annual work plan and management workshop, ending on Friday.

The objective is to review what has been done in the first quarter to improve service delivery. Issues to be discussed include performance-related matters, challenges encountered, and how they can be resolved.

A one-day farmers' day event aimed at equipping farmers with knowledge on vaccines and livestock diseases was poorly attended by farmers in the Okakarara constituency.

This is even though the Otjozondjupa Region is battling an outbreak of lumpy skin disease.

On Friday, the Veterinary Directorate in the Ministry of Agriculture, Water, and Land Reform issued a warning of the lumpy skin disease outbreak in the Okakarara constituency.

However, only a few farmers showed up at the farmers' day information and engagement session held at Ombujovakuru Ekuva. 

The Ministry of Agriculture, Water, and Land Reform maintains a 70/30 ratio allocation in favour of those who have been displaced through revised resettlement criteria and the newly approved National Resettlement Policy.

In response to Rally for Democracy and Progress' (RDP) MP Kennedy Shekupakela's inquiry about stranded individuals waiting for resettlement on various farms, Deputy Minister Anna Shiweda stated that the ministry is actively working with stakeholders, including the Ministry of Finance, to increase budget allocations for the Land Acquisition Programme.

Residents who were recently allocated plots of land at the Brukaros informal settlement in Keetmanshoop are still lacking basic services, despite promises made nearly two years ago.

Bonita Boois applied for a plot of land from the Keetmanshoop Municipality two years ago. She and her family received this plot last year after paying nearly sixteen thousand dollars. However, Boois says that despite being a happy homeowner, basic services such as water and electricity are still unavailable.

The Ministry of Agriculture, Water, and Land Reform (MAWLR) has proposed that resettlement farmers who demonstrate productivity be eligible to receive a title to the land. 

This initiative aims to transform them from leaseholders with the government as landlords into owners of a tangible asset.

The Ministry of Agriculture, Water, and Land Reform has appointed an eight-member Veterinary Council of Namibia board.

The Ministry of Agriculture, Water, and Land Reform has announced the resumption of the importation of poultry meat from South Africa to Namibia.

This was revealed in a notice issued by the Directorate of Veterinary Services.

The Ministry says it should be noted that only poultry meat derived from live poultry originating from bio-secure poultry farms, as listed by the Veterinary Authority of South Africa, will be permitted to be imported into Namibia.

The head of rural water supply in the Oshikoto Region, Stevenson Tuukondjele, has said people are becoming increasingly agitated over a lack of access to water and insulting them when visiting the ministry offices due to these challenges.

Tuukondjele said in an interview with Nampa on Tuesday that several people from Eengodi, Okankolo, Nehale Lyampingana, and some Omuthiya areas have a tendency to approach their offices and insult them because of the ongoing water scarcity.

In response to mounting concerns over the state of the livestock sector in the country, particularly in the Northern Communal Areas (NCA), the Parliamentary Standing Committee on Economics and Public Administration has initiated a series of oversight visits. 

The visits are scheduled to take place from the 12th to the 24th of this month.

The committee will investigate the condition of quarantine farms, camps, facilities, and abattoirs in the NCAs and propose actionable recommendations.

A newly released report by the Ministry of Agriculture, Water, and Land Reform has recommended that the government declare a drought a national emergency.

This follows the effects of drought findings across the country due to low rainfall.

The assessment was conducted in the seven major northern communal drop-producing regions between February 12 and March 11 this year. 

Maize, millet, sorghum, and wheat are estimated to be 53% lower than the last season's harvest.