Minister of Agriculture, Water and Land Reform, Calle Schlettwein, has tabled the amended Livestock and Livestock Products Bill, which aims for the inclusion of dairy and poultry-related products in the Meat Industry Act.

Tabling the amendments to the Meat Industry Act of 1981 in Parliament on Wednesday, Schlettwein said the explicit inclusion of dairy and poultry products in the Meat Industry Act would allow Namibia to develop its dairy and poultry industries through a pro-growth regulatory framework in line with the Namibia Agriculture Policy and Growth at Home Strategy.

He explained that the Act has been amended to also change the name of the Meat Board of Namibia to the proposed name Livestock and Livestock Products Board of Namibia in resonance with the expanded mandate.

“The inclusion of dairy and poultry products in the Meat Industry Act would enable the Meat Board of Namibia to exercise effective management of the importation of dairy and dairy products, as well as poultry meat and meat products and overcome the legal challenges experienced over the past years,” he said.

Schlettwein said Namibia is a net importer of food in general and poultry, dairy and pork in particular, which are part of the basic diet of households across all incomes, stressing that the growth of these sectors in terms of production volume is critical for reducing import reliance, food self-sufficiency and food security.

He further indicated that available data indicates that Namibian consumption is able to support the poultry, dairy and pork industries if these industries can be assisted to grow on the premise that consumer prices are equal to those in the Southern African Customs Union and not to the detriment of consumers.

“The Meat Board of Namibia has already established capacity, competence and experience. Accordingly, the new ‘Livestock and Livestock Products Board of Namibia’ will leverage on its economies of scale to employ incremental resources to facilitate the inclusion and smooth transition of dairy and poultry as controlled products of the Livestock and Livestock Products Bill,” said Schlettwein.

Source: The Namibian Press Agency