WINDHOEK: Namibia’s livestock and meat industry has very good potential for economic growth and employment-creation.

World Bank official Stephane Forman made this observation during a one-day World Bank seminar regarding ‘Policy Notes on Growth and Employment in Namibia’, organised by the National Planning Commission (NPC) on Monday.

Forman said the potential exists in the livestock and meat industry, but the country should start promoting small, private sector development in the livestock sector, while adopting a progressive approach towards controlling animal diseases; controlling and eradicating bush encroachment, and marketing bush by-products such as fuel and charcoal, which will make debushing more attractive for farmers.

“Additional growth remains feasible in the cattle sector, especially in the Northern Communal Areas (NCAs), pulled by some promising markets,” he said.

Forman noted that job-creation appears more challenging in the southern parts of the country, while opportunities exist in the NCA, both at production level (feed-lotting) and processing and marketing.

The NCA also appears to offer the best potential for increasing the supply of cattle for commercial slaughter and export, he added.

Forman then explained that achieving this will require the stepped-up provision of veterinary and extension services, as well as measures that promote the emergence of community-based rangeland management such as stricter enforcement of rules against the fencing-off of communal grazing land.

Representatives from the meat, transport, tourism, trade, logistics and livestock industries, as well as officials from the Ministries of Trade and Industry; Finance; and Environment and Tourism, amongst others, attended the seminar.