WEEKLY NEWS – 11 November 2011
THOUGHT FOR THE WEEK: KINDNESS IS THE LANGUAGE WHICH THE DEAF CAN HEAR AND THE BLIND CAN SEE – Mark Twain
In today’s newsletter –
· Minister of Lands opens land reform discussion
· Problems on the NamLITS database are addressed
· NAU changes congress decision into strategic aim
· Concern about losses from predators
· FA and other days
Minister of Lands opens land reform discussion
The Minister of Lands and Resettlement, Mr Alpheus !Naruseb today officially opened the discussion which was organised by the Evangelic Lutheran Church in Namibia. During his opening speech the Minister emphasised that better communication and the establishment of a price committee at the Ministry of Lands caused that land owners feel at liberty to offer their farms for sale to Government. The Minister also said that the land reform program in Namibia must be handled realistic and practical and appealed to people not to act emotionally.
Furthermore the Minister pointed out that even though the primary function of the Ministry of Lands is to resettle landless people, the Ministry also has a responsibility towards all land owners in Namibia, including commercial farmers. He expressed his appreciation towards the Emerging Farmers Program (a program which initially was established by the NAU and NNFU with funding from the European Union and which has been taken over and is financed by the GIZ and AgriBank). He appealed to the civil society to assist with technical aspects of farming at resettlement farms.
The conference was organised by the Evangelical Lutheran Church in cooperation with the NNFU and other non governmental organisations and will last until Sunday, November 13, 2011.
Problems on the NamLITS database are addressed
As already mentioned in our previous newsletter, all animals have to comply with the 40/90 days residence as from November 2, 2011. The 40/90 days residence furthermore requires that it has to be registered on the central NamLITS database. Unfortunately this database was not kept up to date. During an emergency meeting with the industry, the Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Agriculture, Water & Forestry ensured that they will do everything in their power to solve this problem. Additional temporary workers are employed and additional computers were installed at the Ministry, the Meat Board and Meatco in order to work at this backlog. The following must again be URGENTLY brought under the attention of producers –
1. Producers have to submit the registration cards which are delivered together with the eartags, within 14 days after applying the eartags to the nearest Veterinary office
2. Movement permits together with the register must be submitted to the nearest Veterinary office within 7 days after movement
3. Insist on a proof that these documents were submitted each time
4. Ensure that the animals are registered on the NamLITS database before they are slaughtered at an export abattoir!!
NAU changes congress decision into strategic aim
The decision taken at the NAU Congress in October this year with regard to economic growth and employment creation was changed this week into a strategic aim by the Executive Council.
The Executive Council converted all the information which was given during the congress by speakers such as the Director General of the National Planning Commission, Mr Tom Alweendo and Prof Johan Willemse of the Freestate University as well as input from Farmers Associations into a strategic aim. A working group will be compiled to finalise a report which was drafted by the NAU for submission to other role players which include the National Planning Commission, the Ministries of Agriculture, Water& Forestry, Trade & Industry as well as Finance and certain individuals from the private sector.
The aim of this document is to lobby support for certain actions which will hopefully result in faster economic growth in the agricultural sector and the creation of employment opportunities. An analysis will inter alia be done of all policies, strategies and legislation which might have an influence on economic growth and employment creation in order to identify certain bottlenecks. The aim is to create a favourable environment in which the agricultural sector can develop and grow.
Furthermore existing and potential projects with socio economic advantages such as increased production and employment creation and the reason why these projects were not implemented will be investigated.
A further concern of the Executive Council is the degree of interference of Government in certain marketing actions. Clarity must be obtained about certain definitions with regard to the economy as contained in the Constitution and Vision 2030 in order to get surety about what is actually meant by statements such as free market system and an optimal marketing environment. For this purpose a policy analyst will be part of this working committee.
Concern about losses from predators
Losses due to predators and problem animals reach alarming proportions and the jakkal plague in the South lead to thousands of N$ losses. In the North it is especially the elephant plague in the North-West as well as losses due to leopards, cheetahs and hyenas. The Livestock Producers Organisation regularly discuss this point on their management meetings and at the recent meeting which took place this week, decided to do a country wide survey about these losses.
A reporting system of incidents, type predator / problem animals and the losses will be designed by the LPO management and sent to Farmers Associations and members. The aim of the survey is to put mechanisms into place in cooperation with other role players for the control and management of predators. One such mechanism the LPO strives for is to get subsidised loans for the repair and upgrading of jackal proof fences in the South.
Prevention of veld fires
The NAU again would like to appeal to all farmers and especially absentee landlords to take precautionary measures against veld fires. This includes inter alia the scraping of fire belts, keep dams full with water, have fire fighting equipment at hand, etc. It is recommended that these land owners give a plan of their farms and infrastructure to their FA’s so that the necessary precautions can be taken in case of a veld fire.
Sonop FA is holding a meeting on November 19 at 09:00 at the FA hall on farm Frauenhofen. Guest speaker is MrFonkGenis who will talk about rangelands methods. The day will be concluded with farmers sport and a spitbraai. For further details contact CheryllPienaar, Tel 062 563189, kobus@adventure-namibia.com.
Nauchas FA is holding a meeting and year end function on November 12 at 15:00 at the Solitaire Country Lodge. Guest speakers are Mr Tim Parkhouse of the NEF (Namibia Employers Federation) and MrHailwa, the Director of Forestry of the Ministry of Agriculture, Water & Forestry. The day is concluded with a dinner and dance. For further details contact LizelleKnipe, Tel 081 2688912, spreetshoogte@iway.na.
The Ombotozu Conservancy is holding a game day on November 12 at 09:00 at Farm Ovita of Mr Claus Nebe. Speakers are Dr Axel Rothauge, DrCornelis van der Waal, Norton Izaks and Louis Potgieter. At 15:00 a field visit will take place. For further details contact MrG Muller, Tel 062 518372, Johan Kotze, 062 518358 or Willem Tromp, 062 518343.
Omurambo FA is holding its Annual General Meeting on November 15 at 15:00 at Kroonster. For further details contact MrsMarikaEngelbrecht, Tel 062 571545, engelk@mweb.com.na.
Dordabis FA will hold a meeting and year end function on November 17 at 10:00 at Farm Binsenheim of Walter and Christine Romeis. Guest speakers are Insp S Burger from the stock theft unit from the Khomas region Police and Mr Walter Romeis. For further details contact Christine Romeis, Tel 061 231230, cwromeis@iway.na.
Maltahöhe FA is holding a meeting and year end on November 16 at 09:00 at the Namseb Game Lodge. During the meeting Mr Johan Grobbelaar will talk about the (bow) hunting shop and Mrs du Plessis of Standard Bank about Testaments. After the meeting the Annual General Meeting will be held during which a new management will be elected. For further details contact Christian Otto, Tel 063 293512, ottojagd@iway.na.
The Charcoal Producers Association is holding a special meeting to discuss the possible causes of veld fires as well as fire belts and other possibilities how to prevent veld fires. The Labour Act for charcoal burners will also be discussed. This meeting will be held on November 15 at 09:00 at Farm Pierre of MrGroenewald (approx. 70km outside Outjo on the road to Otavi). All charcoal producers are welcome and have to register by November 8 at FransHolzkampf, Tel 081 2406181 or Willem Enslin, Tel 081 2305078.
Gamsberg FA is holding its year end function which will be a Hippie party. This party will be held on November 19 at 19:00 at the FA hall and the best “Hippie Dress” will get a prize. Hippie children are also welcome and registration is N$100 for adults and N$50 for children under 12 years. Please reply not later than November 11 to Mrs Adele Cranz, Tel 081 2739525, adele@isabis4x4.com.
Summerdown FA is holding a meeting on November 16 at 15:00 at the FA hall. Guest speakers are Messrs Tyrone Gilbert of Basil Reed and Insp Johan Vermeulen who will talk about Police reservists. Everybody is welcome. For further information contact MardaleenDerks, Tel 081 2779735, derks@iway.na.
Uhlenhorst FA is holding a meeting on November 26 at 15:00 at the FA hall. Guest speaker is MrAppie van Niekerk who will talk about electric fencing on farms. A new management will be elected. For further details contact Mr Willie, Krügel, Tel 063 265311, 081 2492509, disal@iway.na.
NAPHA (Namibia Professional Hunting Association) will hold their Annual General Meeting on November 22 &23 at the Heja Game Lodge outside Windhoek The meeting starts on November 22 at 08:30 until 10:00 (thereafter is a closed session) and on November 23 from 08:00 to 13:00. The gala dinner is held on November 22 at 18:30 for 19:00. For further details contact MarsofineKynauw, Tel 061 234455, marso@napha.com.na.
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