Namibia launches project to boost urban agriculture

The program aims to improve the livelihoods of mainly informal vendors and small-scale farmers in urban settings

Xinhua
7th May 2021

WINDHOEK, May 6 (Xinhua) — Namibia Thursday launched a special project on urban agriculture, aimed at strengthening the country’s food systems to recover from emergencies and disease-related shocks through the Build Back Better (BBB) program.

The program aims to improve the livelihoods of mainly informal vendors and small-scale farmers in urban settings, Namibia’s Minister of Agriculture, Calle Schlettwein said in a statement delivered on his behalf.

According to Schlettwein, the project is envisaged to achieve the aims through multi-faceted interventions that are focused on the prevention of the further spread of COVID-19 through the provision of hand-washing facilities for informal food markets; urban food production to mitigate humanitarian needs of food security and nutrition and addressing socio-economic impacts of COVID-19 by supporting the livelihoods of the vulnerable through income-generating activities.

“Namibia, like many other countries, has not been spared by the viral COVID-19, and other disasters such as the Foot and Mouth Disease, droughts, floods, and recently the locust outbreaks, which impacted negatively the national and household food security in the country,” he said.

However, while in the midst of all these calamities, the government aided by its development partners continued to contain these disasters, he added.

According to Schlettwein, more than 57 percent of the employed population is found in the informal sector in Namibia.

“These high percentages are an indication of the urgency that is required for the development of the informal sector in order to sustain and guarantee jobs and income in that sector,” he concluded.

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