The youth in Namibia must use the resources available to them, including land, to create employment for themselves instead of looking to the government to give them jobs. This was said by 33-year-old Phillip Namburu, who recently launched a horticultural project on a 30-hectare plot he inherited from his grandmother at Omutse go ndjaba, 20 kilometers from Omuthiya in the Oshikoto region.
He has already started working on one hectare, which he fenced off with the help of four other people. “We have to roll up our sleeves and work in line with the saying: ‘Dirty hands equals clean money,’” he said of the project focused on enhancing food security in the country.
“I realized that at Omuthiya, people selling at the market have difficulty sourcing produce like cabbages, onions, and tomatoes, and they have to travel either to Tsumeb or the Etunda irrigation scheme to acquire them, always at high transport cost,” he said. “I asked my mother and family if I could utilize the plot, which had been fallow for some time, and they agreed, so work on the project began,” he said. Namburu said they established a nursery for seedlings in July, which were transplanted to the beds three weeks ago.
They planted cabbages, tomatoes, green peppers, and watermelons and also planned on growing potatoes but could not get the right seed tubers. “On another section, we plan on establishing an orchard,” he said, adding that they will continue expanding the project gradually until the whole plot is utilized.
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