A must for all in the food production chain

One of the pillars in “Harambee Prosperity Plan” is social development and the elimination of hunger and poverty in Namibia. The cornerstone of achieving this great strategy is through food security.

Operation Werengendje is a crop production initiative launched in 2016 by the Kavango East Regional Governor. This initiative, together with the Food Namibia Conference and Expo 2018, aims at reducing hunger and poverty in Namibia.

This conference and expo is taking place from 4 – 8 September. It will bring together stakeholders in government and the agro-food industries to discuss key issues related to agriculture and sustainable food production in Namibia.

This public-private partnership initiative comprises an exhibition, conference and SME workshop sessions under the theme "Food security for a healthy nation". The four-day event will be hosted in the Kavango East Region at the Rundu Trade Fair Centre and is open to the general public.

If you are a farmer, retailer, wholesaler, distributor, or involved in agriculture or food production, Food Namibia is your networking and exhibition platform. It will also be a celebration for the public in general with lots of activities including food stalls, traditional performances and a kiddie’s park.

The exhibition will provide a unique business-to-business platform to showcase products and services in the local agriculture and food production industries. The food conference will take place on 5 September and the SME workshop sessions on the 6th. These sessions will offer public and private sector role players the opportunity to interact with each other, share their vision and discuss key issues concerning the future of food and agriculture industries in the country. Topics at the conference will focus on the growth at home strategy focusing on agriculture, food safety, standards and market access as well as the role of a youth, woman and marginalised communities in agriculture infrastructure development in the Kavango East Region.

The Conference seeks to balance the interests of regulatory and food industry people while providing an open forum for the consideration of ideas from any source.

The activities on 8 September will emphasise and celebrate the success of Operation Werengendje. Literally translated “Operation Werengendje” means “Operation Termite”, which relates to termites working hard to gather their food before the winter.

Operation Werengendje offers a subsidy initiative aimed at providing useful support to subsistence farmers in Kavango East Region to produce enough crops and thus promote well-organised agriculture. In return, they are feeding their families and surrounding communities as well as trading the surplus in the open market. This programme was created to support the Harambee Prosperity Plan under the social progression pillar 3, sub pillar (a) and thus complements the long-term goal of the National Development Plans [NDPs] and Vision 2030.

The Kavango East, with Rundu as its capital, has a higher rainfall than most other parts of the country, which elevates its agriculture potential substantially. Referred to as the food basket of Namibia, it includes up to five green schemes and is considered to be one of the most important contributors in term of the country’s food security.

For more information, contact 061 25 1014 , 066 26 7243 or send an email to [email protected] or [email protected].

Also visit our website www.foodnamibia.com.na or follow us on Facebook for more details.