INTERNATIONAL – Namibia faces a serious challenge in sustaining its food security because of unpredictable weather patterns brought about by climate change, a Namibian minister said on Wednesday.
Namibian Minister of Agriculture, Water and Forestry, Alpheus !Naruseb raised alarm over the effects of climate change in his country.
He said Namibia has been experiencing both flash floods and drought making it difficult for the government to plan properly on food production.
"The Namibian government has taken up programs to help farmers through provision of farming implements and training to promote conservation agriculture. This is meant to create resilience of farmers in dealing with challenges of climate change," he said.
!Naruseb said there is a need for Namibia to take a paradigm shift from old farming methods and adopt latest horticulture and agriculture methods.
He said his government together with development partners have pumped in financial resources in agriculture to curtail effects of climate change as well as improve productivity.
He added that state owned Environmental Investment Fund is also playing a significant role in assisting farmers to find ways to deal with challenges of climate change.