By Staff Reporter
THE Namibia Agronomic Board (NAB) has just completed site visits and evaluations of maize crops nominee’s finalists for the year 2014.
The three finalists for 2014 Zambezi Dry land Maize Champion, are Mr Lennox Kulobone of Bwacha in Makanga Area in Linyanti Constituency, Mr Fred Mwabi of Chincimani in Sibbinda Constituency, and Mr Alfred Mutakalilumo of Masokotwani in Sibbinda Constituency.
All three farmers were evaluated according to criteria, which includes how they’ve adopted modern farming practice such as introducing fertilisers to their soil, the use of herbicides and pesticides with the ultimate aim of increasing the quality of their crop and maximising yield per hectare.
According to NAB, Embracing modern farming techniques empowers farmers to bridge the gap between being communal producers and being able to contribute their surplus produce into the formal market and commercial value chain in Namibia.
The site visits were conducted by an impartial team of evaluators, comprising a team of 4, from the Ministry of Agriculture, Water and Forestry, the Agronomic Producers Association, the Likwama Farmer’s Union, and a representative of the Namibian Agronomic Board Secretariat.
“The evaluation went very well and we saw good quality maize and farming practices to quite a high standard”, said Ms.Antoinette Venter who represented the NAB Secretariat as an evaluator.
She further added that, “Our finalists have shown remarkable resilience in the face of last year’s drought and their efforts have paid off. Once again, the Zambezi Region has delivered a fine number of finalists for the 2014 title.”
The 2014 Zambezi Dry land Maize Champion will be announced at the Zambezi Trade Fair in August.
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