Hundreds of Namibians benefit from South-South cooperation: official

About 355 Namibian farmers andgovernment staff have benefited from training with Chinese experts on skills from rice farming to compost making, said Namibia'sagriculture permanent secretary Percy Misika.

Through a project under theTripartite Agreement on South-South Cooperation (SSC) signed withthe Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) and China, whichstarted in 2015 and will end this year, Chinese experts wereassigned to work with locals to maximize skills and knowledgetransfer.

Misika told Xinhua that thetwo-year cooperation has been excellent. The training range fromrice cultivation, horticulture, compost making and virology to meatresidue analysis.

"The introduction of special cropswith well-developed roots such as Chinese long beans and pumpkinswith stronger roots which have better water and fertilizerabsorption ability will ensure the availability of vegetablesduring dry periods," he said.

Following the interventions of theChinese experts, rice yields increased significantly from,according to him.

"This significant increase was alsorealized to the newly introduced method of mechanical transplantingof seedlings into the rice paddies. The new method not only helpedto reduce labor costs but also shortened the planting time," headded.

Meanwhile, Misika said as forfuture cooperation, discussions are underway for Phase 2 of the SSCproject between the tripartite parties.

"No specific areas have beendecided upon yet as discussions are still in their early stages. Itis however anticipated that Phase 2 will build on the excellentresults obtained in Phase 1 particularly in rice production," hesaid. Enditem