Local fertiliser plant plans explored

The Namibian Agronomic Board (NAB) is investigating the possibility of establishing a fertiliser-blending plant in Namibia to reduce production costs for farmers and support local crop production.

NAB chairperson of the crop value chain development advisory committee Salomo Mbai says fertiliser makes up a large part of farmers’ production costs.

“Fertiliser is a key input and it takes a bigger chunk of all the production inputs,” Mbai said during the recent National Agronomy and Horticulture Awards at Gobabis.

The awards were held under the theme ‘Enhancing Resilience in Agriculture Through Crop Farming’.

“From the NAB’s side, there are some interventions for investigation. We’ve budgeted to look at the possibility of having a fertiliser-blending plant in the country,” Mbai said.

The plan forms part of the NAB’s crop value chain development strategy for 2025 to 2030, which has received an initial N$250 million allocation.

The strategy seeks to address the high cost of farming inputs, Namibia’s dependence on imported food, limited processing and storage facilities, and difficulties farmers face in accessing markets.

“As a nation, we cannot talk about food security in the absence of seed security. That’s a starting point,” he said.

The NAB plans to support farmers with quality seed and fertiliser, drought-tolerant crop varieties, water-saving technologies and improved farming systems.

It also wants to improve processing and storage facilities and connect farmers with buyers.

“A farmer is only truly resilient if production increases and there is a market. Before each and every farmer puts a seed in the soil, there must be an indication where that product can be sold,” he said.

The strategy targets crops such as citrus, bananas, mangoes, table grapes, apples, blueberries and potatoes. Grain crops include wheat, white maize and pearl millet.

The plans come as Namibia continues to depend heavily on imported grain.

NAB chief executive Fidelis Mwazi says Namibia produced 95 397 tonnes of grain during the 2025/26 financial year and imported 275 899 tonnes.

“So, 26% of what we consumed was produced locally, in comparison to 74% of what we imported,” he says.

Local farmers supplied 36% of the white maize consumed in Namibia, 13% of wheat, and 36% of pearl millet.

Namibia aims to increase the share of locally produced food to 80% under the sixth National Development Plan.

Mwazi says the country’s grain market is worth about N$2.3 billion a year.

“That means when we are producing this locally, that N$2.3 billion will benefit the farmers and the industry,” he says.

Mwazi says farmers should also consider adding crop production where conditions allow instead of depending solely on livestock.

“We would like to see diversification, not only livestock, but bringing grains and horticulture into agriculture so one can also rely on the crop sector,” he says.

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