Minister of Agriculture , Water and Land Reform , Calle Schlettwein has warned against the overexploitation or pollution of the Kavango River as it is already under stress . Schlettwein made the statement on Monday during the official unveiling of eight agri – food system sites countrywide to the Ministry of Agriculture , Water and Land Reform at Kuwoko Kondja community garden in the Kavango West Region . The project is funded by Japan , through the Japan Supplementary Budget , and is implemented by the agriculture ministry in collaboration with the United Nations Development Programme ( UNDP ). Referring to the Kuwoko Kondja garden located along the Kavango River , Schlettwein said they are fortunate to have the river flowing past them . ‘ No development is possible without a secure , reliable and affordable water source , although it is finite . The Kavango River is as we speak under stress because of drought and low levels in the river ,’ he stated . He added that the end users of the river in Botswana ar
e already struggling with water issues more than the Namibians . The minister called on the communities along the river to be careful with the resource , not over exploit it or pollute it but treat it as the most important resource they have . ‘ Because without it your community garden will be gone . The water is your lifeline and yourself who are the human capacity to develop this project ,’ he encouraged the beneficiaries of the project . He , however , also indicated that the people in the area have lived along the river and used the resource for many centuries and that he is hopeful the communities know the value of the resource . Schlettwein explained that the agri – food system project started in 2020 with the assistance of Japan which availed N . dollars 20 million . The project aims to upscale the strengthening of Namibian food systems to recover from emergencies and disease – related shocks through the Build Back Better ( BBB ) Programme to support additional constituencies with low adaptive capaciti
es in the country . The project targets to support at least 200 households , 60 per cent of which are female – headed , in peri – urban communities , increasing their adaptive capacities and resilience to climate shocks through income generating activities from the sale of agro – produce and small stock . Schlettwein urged the beneficiaries of the community gardens to start adopting smart agricultural technologies in order to improve production .

Source: The Namibia News Agency