NAMIBIA: $34m African Development Bank loan to create a 'Green Revolution'

[ This report does not necessarily reflect the views of the United Nations]

WINDHOEK, 28 Sep 2005 (IRIN) - An African Development Bank (ADB) loan to the tune of US $34 million has given Namibia's 'Green Scheme Project' a major boost.

The ADB said the cash injection would provide a vital lifeline to the agricultural sector and assist in making the arid country "greener" through irrigation and crop development initiatives targeting the 70 percent of the country that relies on agriculture.

The Green Scheme, brainchild of former president Sam Nujoma, has its roots in India's Green, White and Yellow revolutions of the 1960s and '70s, which boosted milk and grain production, turning the country into a major food basket.

Namibia said it aimed to increase the contribution of agriculture to the country's gross domestic product (GDP), which is dominated by diamonds and beef.

A number of projects have been initiated since the Green Scheme was launched last year: dates and grapes are being produced in the south, freshwater fish in the northern and northeastern regions, and various horticultural initiatives as well as livestock farming in other parts of the country.

So far 260 small-scale and 13 medium-scale farmers have shown an interest in the scheme, which will cost around US $55 million, with the ADB loan covering about 59 percent.

The government has said it would allocate close to US $1.5 billion to agricultural production in the next 15 years, including developing 27,000 ha of irrigation land along Namibia's five perennial rivers: the Zambezi, Orange, Kwando, Kavango and Kunene.

Nickey Iyambo, the minister of agriculture, water and forestry, said he hoped the problems of hunger, poverty, unemployment and insufficient food would become things of the past once this goal was achieved.

"What looks promising is that by next year Namibia is set to harvest its first crop of rice as part of the Green Scheme," he noted.

The country aims to increase and industrialise agricultural production, and achieve quality approvals from European Union countries to enable it to export more beef to these markets.

A Green Scheme Agency has been set up to drive irrigation-led agriculture in Namibia. "To leapfrog [the agricultural divide], we must expose small farmers to pure commercial farming as soon as possible," said Leon Hugo, chairman of the newly established Green Scheme agency.

The agency will finance the development of core infrastructure - including pump stations, bulk high-voltage electricity supply and the necessary arterial roads - and subsidise interest payments on development and working capital.

"We don't want the Green Scheme to be a state-dominated project, but rather [that] private sector contributors, investors and business people should also make money," said Hugo.

Namibia is formulating legislation to implement its 'Green Revolution', which will be officially proclaimed early next year.

[ENDS]