Obrein Simasiku
The Ministry of Agriculture, Water and Land Reform (MAWLR) has announced that it will be constructing a meat processing plant at Katima Mulilo, next to the existing Meatco abattoir. The project will cost N$35 million dollars and will be constructed on a five-hectare piece of land.
“The construction of the Meat Processing Plant is among the major activities funded by the European Union (EU) through the Eleventh European Development Fund (EDF 11). Apart from the construction of the Katima Mulilo Meat Processing Plant, the funding also includes the construction of the Katima Mulilo quarantine facility and upgrading of the Sachinga Livestock Development Centre that will be equipped with Satellite Artificial Insemination facility in the Zambezi Region,” said MAWLR Executive Director Ndiyakupi Nghituwamata.
“The Katima Mulilo abattoir is an export abattoir, this means that we have been exporting raw beef to other countries with less to no value addition. With this new meat processing plant we will be able to add value to the meat and simultaneously create jobs, both during the construction period and the operationalization of the plant,’’ she added.
Furthermore, she said, exporting raw meat, meant that the country was exporting jobs, which defeats the resolve of employment creation.
Nghituwamata, further said, the Livestock Support Programme (LSP) is being implemented in the eight Northern Communal Areas (NCAs) of Kunene, Omusati, Oshana, Oshikoto, Ohangwena, Kavango West, Kavango East, and Zambezi Region.
“The overall objective of the programme is to promote entrepreneurship and enhance the livelihood of Northern Communal Areas (NCA) livestock farming communities in a sustainable way, with the purpose to improve the performance of the livestock value chain in the NCA,” she added.
This Programme (EDF11) is funded by the EU to the amount of N$284,079,245. The Livestock Support Programme is implemented by indirect management with the Government as represented by the National Authorising Officer (NAO) which is the National Planning Commission of Namibia. The Contracting Authority for the PE activities is the National Authorising Officer (NAO) while the Agriculture Ministry is the project implementer.
