KATIMA MULILO – Deputy agriculture minister Ruth Masake has called on young people to position themselves as partners, producers, and leaders in Namibia’s economic transformation.
Addressing the inaugural Zambezi Regional Youth Indaba on Tuesday, Masake said under the Sixth National Development Plan (NDP6), agriculture, fisheries, and natural resources have been prioritised as key sectors for job creation, food security, and export growth.
She emphasised that NDP6 marks a strategic shift from subsistence farming towards commercial, climate-smart production, with a specific focus on promoting youth-led agribusiness and agro-processing.
“The vision of the government is to make agriculture and fisheries attractive, profitable and future-oriented for young people,” she said.
The deputy minister noted that youth in the Zambezi region are uniquely positioned to drive this change due to the area’s strategic geography and natural wealth. She described the region not as a peripheral area, but as a vital gateway.
“This region has water resources, fertile land, inland fisheries potential, tourism linkages and cross-border markets,” she said, adding that the government wants to see youth in the region leading in crop production; aquaculture and inland fisheries; livestock and feed production; agro-processing and logistics; climate-resilient and water-efficient farming systems.
Masake encouraged attendees to apply for the National Youth Development Fund, which she described as a significant milestone for supporting scalable, youth-led projects.
In addition to the new fund, she advised aspiring entrepreneurs to utilise the Development Bank of Namibia for large-scale agribusiness and value-chain infrastructure projects. Masake further explained that the government remains in active engagement with Agribank to improve financing accessibility while continuing to roll out green schemes, irrigation opportunities, and land allocation support.
“This must be the year where youth move from waiting to working, from access to action, from potential to productivity.
Agriculture, fisheries, water and land reform should be tomorrow’s engines of growth as opposed to yesterday’s sectors. Let us start this year in style, with confidence, collaboration and commitment,” Masake added.
A technical team was available to address queries throughout the one-day event, while the gathering also featured motivational insights from local business owner Hisham Ahmed.
-Nampa
