Hai//Om San receive boost in farming worth millions

TSUMEB, 30 SEP – The Hai//Om San community at Ondera Government Resettlement Farm in the Oshikoto Region on Friday received a donation of farming implements, livestock and cash from the Namsov Community Trust (NCT).
NCT representative, Anna-Marie Molatudi officially handed over a total of 205 cattle, new Isuzu double cab, tractor and a variety of farming implements worth a combined N.dollars 7 million.
Namsov is a Namibian fishing company headquartered at Walvis Bay in the Erongo Region and was established in 1990.
Molatudi told the gathering that the support came through an agreement which was entered into between Namsov and the Office of the Vice President’s Division of Marginalised Communities in 2014.
“However, this agreement comes to an end today. Namsov will exit the programme, yet the implements, cattle, cash, tractor and Isuzu double cab all will remain your properties,” she said.
Molatudi also urged the Hai//Om San community members on the farm to establish a community trust in order to successfully and commercially continue running the agronomic and livestock farming activities that started on the farm in 2015.
Chief Development Planner in the Office of the Vice President, James Uerikua on behalf of the Deputy Minister of Marginalised Communities, Royal /Ui/o/oo, received the donation.
/Ui/o/oo in his statement that was read thanked the management of Namsov for the N.dollars 7 million-investment “that will really integrate the formally disadvantaged and marginalised Hai//Om San now residing on Farm Ondera”.
/Ui/o/oo said about 430 households are on the farm since Government relocated them there in 2013 from areas of the Oshivelo Veterinary Checkpoint.
The 7 000 hectares farmland for livestock and arable farming was purchased by Government in 2012 at a cost of N.dollars 12 million for resettlement purposes, he said.
/Ui/o/oo explained that Namsov and his office in 2015 jointly started a training programme for some community members on the farm in agronomic and livestock farming.
“We don’t expect you to be hungry on this farm. There is a garden and an irrigation system on top of your livestock,” the deputy minister said.
The farm has both dry and irrigation farming systems which are fully operational and regularly produced food in the past five years.
Farm Ondera is situated over 100 kilometres north of Tsumeb in the Quinas Constituency in the Oshikoto Region.
(NAMPA)