EENHANA: Subsistence farmer Samuel Tweufiilwa Nepunda is the National Grand Mahangu Champion of 2012 for producing a bumper harvest of mahangu (pearl millet) on his crop field at the Emanya village in the east of the Ohangwena Region.

Nepunda, who is producing mahangu on a 23 hectare piece of land, was crowned the National Grand Mahangu Champion of 2012 during the Mahangu Festival, better known as Oshipe, which took place at Eenhana in the Ohangwena Region yesterday.

Agriculture, Water and Forestry Minister John Mutorwa was at Eenhana to officiate at the festival and to hand out awards on behalf of President Hifikepunye Pohamba.

Nepunda was awarded a small trophy (as regional winner) and a big trophy (as national grand winner), a big plastic silo sponsored by Agribank, N.dollars 10 000 from the Namibian Agronomic Board (NAB) and N.dollars 5 000 from the Bank of Namibia (BoN).

He was followed by another subsistence crop farmer from the Kavango Region, Elias Sipombo Ndumba, who took the second prize of two trophies and a big plastic silo as the National Mahangu Champion 2012.

Regional winners from other mahangu producing regions of Caprivi, Kunene, Omusati, Oshana and Oshikoto were also awarded, among others, with small silos and trophies.