WINDHOEK—In an ambitious move to bolster the local dairy industry, the Ministry of Agriculture, Water and Land Reform has unveiled a new initiative designed to support 60 dairy producers across Namibia. The Dairy Value Chain Development Scheme, set for the 2024/25 financial year, will focus on enhancing dairy production in the Otjozondjupa, Omaheke, Hardap, and Zambezi regions.

According to Namibia Press Agency, which were released on Monday, the program aims to develop a modern, self-sustaining dairy industry in Namibia. The initiative targets small, medium, and large holder production systems. This strategic support comes in response to the country’s low market share of milk and dairy products in the formal market, which has historically led to a heavy reliance on imports.

The government’s plan includes providing significant financial subsidies to participating farmers, including a 60 percent subsidy on production stock, and 50 percent subsidies on veterinary medicines, feeds, machinery, equipment, and other materials. These subsidies are designed to reduce the cost burden on producers and encourage scalable production. The maximum subsidy allocated per beneficiary per annum is N.dollars 200,000 for cattle and N.dollars 100,000 for goats.

The Directorate of Agricultural Production, Extension and Engineering Services will oversee the scheme’s implementation, ensuring that the subsidy budgets are allocated timely to the producers through the regional councils. A total of N.dollars 5 million has been earmarked to facilitate the processing of subsidized inputs and services across the designated regions.