• Youth

AgriBank launches training videos

The launching of the virtual training material is aimed at transferring knowledge and skills to farmers to enhance farming productivity countrywide.

The training videos focus on five farming practices: Poultry production, farm infrastructure, rangeland management, livestock production and crop and horticulture production.

The material was introduced by the bank in line with its agri advisory services function, whose long-term goal is to inspire positive attitudes in farmers towards agribusiness to improve productivity.

Speaking during the launch, Agribank’s executive manager for marketing and customer strategy, Regan Mwazi, said that due to the disruptive nature of Covid-19 on all elements of doing business, the bank had to come up with solutions to remain relevant to its stakeholders.

“Agribank’s agri advisory services mandate is promoting sustainable agricultural business ventures, while also building business relationships between clients, potential clients and the bank,” he said.

The short training clips are aimed at capacitating farmers on topical issues such as livestock management, range land management, agronomy and crops, poultry and farm infrastructure, among other things.

Mwazi added that the advantage of the initiative is that the material is free of charge and all the videos are available on the bank’s social media platforms.

Challenges and the future

"We are faced by so many challenges and this is an opportunity to educate ourselves and ensure food security in Namibia, so I am requesting the public to share the information so that it reaches the relevant audience and upskill the farmers,” he said.

Otjozondjupa regional council chairperson Marlayn Mbakera added that farming offers endless opportunities and farmers should not back down from exploring such opportunities.

She called on farmers to embrace technology in capacity building and urged them to use the videos to equip themselves with the right knowledge and conquer all the opportunities in farming.

"This initiative will contribute to building Namibian farmers’ resilience to climatic changes and shocks, and will provide an opportunity for agri-entrepreneurs to acquire practical knowledge and skills in various farming aspects," she said.

The initiative, which is supported by Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) under their farming for resilience programme, is set to be shared amongst the bank’s beneficiaries to increase productivity.

Speaking on behalf of GIZ, technical advisor Jonas Boesl said the strong collaboration between the two organisations has grown over the years and commended the Agribank team for the informative videos.