An Oniipa-based farmer says she earns about N$6 000 a month selling mango, guava, custard apple, paw-paw, lemon, avocado, granadilla and grafted orange trees.
Vistorina Joel, a teacher at Iipumbu Senior Secondary School at Oshakati, sells her trees to community members in and around Oniipa and Oshakati.
She says she uses both direct sales and a WhatsApp group to reach customers.
Growing trees is a passion driven by her love for agriculture and desire to reduce carbon emissions, Joel says.
“I sell all the trees at N$30, except for the avocado trees, which are N$50, and grafted orange trees, which are N$150,” she says.
Joel says she has also planted about 70 trees at her homestead at Oniipa, some of which are already bearing fruit.
The produce is currently for household consumption only, she says.
“But maybe I can start selling them next year,” she says.
Joel says she waters her plants using both tap water and harvested rainwater during the rainy season, adding that the cost has been manageable as she spends about N$1 100 per month on water.
“Water is not really as expensive as I expected. During rainy seasons I use rainwater, and when I compare it to dry seasons, the bill is not that different.
“I pay about N$900 on rainy days,” she says.
Constituency councillor Vilho Nuunyango says his office supports small-scale farmers, but only when formal requests are submitted.
He says he has, however, not received any requests so far.
“I have not received any request thus far and also do not know the number of small-scale farmers in my constituency,” Nuunyango says.
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