Windhoek: Popular Democratic Movement (PDM) leader, McHenry Venaani has called on President Netumbo Nandi-Ndaitwah to urgently redirect national investments towards a large-scale agricultural development project. This initiative, he said, could create jobs, ensure food security, and modernise Namibia's rural economy.

According to Namibia Press Agency, during a press briefing in the capital on Thursday, Venaani criticised Nandi-Ndaitwah's administration for what he characterised as a lack of vision in the current agricultural policy. He stressed that Namibia should progress beyond merely reinstating government-run green schemes and, instead, invest in innovative, climate-smart technologies that will pave the way for new opportunities in desert agriculture.

'One area where we should find unanimity in our politics is agriculture. I don't think Swapo and PDM or any other party should disagree on what needs to happen with agriculture, and this is where the president is missing the tone,' Venaani said during his assessment of Nandi-Ndaitwah's first 100 days in office. He accused the government of having limited ambition, stating that its goal of operating green schemes at 100 per cent capacity would not improve the country's fortunes. 'That is not vision. That's just correcting the failures of 35 years,' he added.

Venaani proposed a national plan to develop 50,000 hectares of desert land by employing desalination, drip irrigation, aquaponics, and hydroponics. This approach is akin to successful models implemented in countries such as Algeria, Morocco, Egypt, and Israel, the opposition lawmaker said. 'If we put up a desalination plant along the coast and connect it to 50,000 hectares of land using drip irrigation, we are going to take this country forward,' he said. 'This will not only create food security but also agro-processing zones and thousands of jobs especially for young people.'

He also called on Namibia to emulate Angola, which is developing massive canal-based irrigation in southern areas. Venaani said Namibia should learn from India's agricultural and technological models, particularly following President Nandi-Ndaitwah's recent engagement with Indian Prime Minister, Narendra Modi. 'I give the president credit for bringing Modi here. But we must now harness India's technological potential to drive agricultural reform,' he said, in reference to Modi's State visit to Namibia on Wednesday.