The Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO), in partnership with Namibia’s Ministry of Agriculture, Water and Land Reform, has facilitated a training on poultry production for a group of women and youths in Witvlei, Namibia.

The training covered egg production, meat production, bio-security, poultry health and diseases, feed production, marketing, processing and composting.

‘The two-day training was facilitated by [FAO] in partnership with [Ministry of Agriculture, Water and Land Reform] agricultural extension officers in the Hardap region and is intended to empower rural women [and] youth to venture out into poultry production’, FAO tweeted.

FAO also noted that it donated 100 Lohmann brown layers to the Witvlei community earlier this year as a means to bolster rural development and strengthen their food systems for better production and life.

‘Thanks to [FAO’s] donation the eggs derived from the poultry scheme now supplement the diet of learners at Witvlei’s Primary School with much needed protein while the surplus is sold to community members for income’, the UN agency tweeted.

Namibia has been steadily increasing local poultry production over the last five years, with small and medium enterprises (SMEs) recording significant growth.

According to the International Trade Administration (ITA), agriculture is one of the country’s most important sectors, providing livelihoods for a majority of Namibia’s population directly or indirectly.

However, World Bank 2020 data shows that youth unemployment in Namibia was at 40.2 percent.

Photo source: FAO Namibia