Industrial and Tourism Expo attracts large numbers.
Occurring under the theme: “Tourism and Green Investment for inclusive economic development,” the 2024 Keetmanshoop agricultural, industrial and tourism expo attracted a large number of people.
With an approximate number of 166 exhibitors representing different sectors, cooperate, small-scale and large scale farmers and SMEs which exhibited a wide variety of top quality agricultural products, farming equipment, solar equipment, vehicles, hand and homemade products.
The main goal for the expo was to showcase a much diversified sector including tourism, trade, agro processing and several relevant service industries.
The Minister of Agriculture, Water and Land Reform (MAWLR), Carl H Schlettwein, officiated the expo on behalf of the head of state, President of the Republic of Namibia, Nangolo Mbumba.
In his keynote address, Carl Schlettwein acknowledged that the agricultural, industrial and tourism expo offers a prime opportunity for local producers to network with counter parts from across the country. He further stated that through the exchange of knowledge on livestock management, farming techniques and equipment and tourism attraction, exhibitors will gain valuable insights essential for their growth.
With the recent oil and gas discoveries as well as green hydrogen development, the //Karas region presents significant potential and opportunities with its rich oil and gas industry. These new developments are regarded to further bolster the national economic growth and serve as catalysts for economic diversification and expansion.
Schlettwein highlighted that Namibia has gone at great length to invest in some of the priority areas within agriculture. These areas include; investment in water resource development, distribution infrastructure and sanitation with the objective of providing secure, reliable and affordable water supply required for the transition from rain-fed agriculture to intensive and climate smart agriculture, thus re-risking the sector from climate change and variability.
Investment has also been made in diversifying market access to achieve economies of scale & expansion of the domestic product, securing affordable and broad-based support services, particularly the veterinary, agricultural extension services. He further added that investment in primary, logistical and supportive infrastructure to address supply-side challenges and product quality considerations have also been made. These range from abattoirs, processing plants and feedlots in the livestock sector to grain and cold storage infrastructure for fresh food and marketing hubs in the agronomic sector and IT infrastructure.
Carl H Schlettwein, Minister of Agriculture, Water and Land Reform (MAWLR) has highlighted that Namibia has gone at great length investing in water resource development, supportive infrastructure to address supply-side challenges, power provision and diversifying market access.
