By Nneka Nwogwugwu
In an effort to accelerate the journey towards zero hunger by 2030 and address food and nutrition security, the World Food Programme (WFP) and the Environmental Investment Fund have joined hands to strengthen government’s capacity.
WFP country director George Fedha said in addition to these pillars, cross-cutting areas of digital transformation, women and youth empowerment as well as job creation have also been prioritised.
EIF chief executive officer Benedict Libanda said to achieve the SDGs by 2030, it is paramount that industries as well as individuals harness their knowledge of materials and financial resources to ensure the safety and prosperity of the people and natural environments in Namibia.
The WFP and EIF recently signed a memorandum of understanding to collaborate in the management of programmes under the Sustainable Development Goals 2 (zero hunger), 13 (climate action) and 17 (partnerships).
Specifically, the WFP is mandated to ensure vulnerable populations in Namibia strengthen food systems since currently, most households’ diets are associated with high levels of nutrient deficiency.
Another issue the parties cited is a lack of diversification in terms of food production. Local food production is dominated mainly by the production of staples such as maize, millet and sorghum, and very limited on other nutrient-dense crops.
The high dependence on food imports, where the country imports 60%-plus of its total needs, is another area of concern, given that on average in Namibia, 70%-plus of Namibians rely on market access for food.
Climate change impacts on food production. Both parties indicated that this is very evident for Namibia, where for the past 10-15 years, the country has continued to experience droughts and floods, which have led to a significant reduction in food production and in turn fuelled the dependence on food imports.
Moreover, limited access for smallholder farmers to markets, which has impacted a lot on the commercialisation process of smallholder farmers, makes them unable to compete on an equal footing with commercial farmers.
This, both parties feel, has disincentivised farmers, and in turn discouraged increased production.