FAO participated in the inaugural Food Namibia Expo, held in Rundu, Kavango East Region.  The expo, organized by Food Namibia together with the Office of the Regional Governor, Kavango East Region, brought together various stakeholders from government and agriculture industry. The maiden expo, held from 8 – 9 September, was held under theme “Food Security for a Healthy Nation”.

Speaking at the official opening of the two-day expo, the Minister for Agriculture Water and Forestry, John Mutorwa, said all stakeholders had a duty to help fight poverty and hunger. “Poverty and hunger cannot be addressed by Government alone, given the magnitude of the problems.  I would therefore like to call upon the private sector, non-governmental organization, donor community and the media to join us in facing the challenges of climate change without compromising food security for our people,” said Mutorwa.

The idea of holding an expo emanated from the program “Operation Werengendje”, an all-inclusive program of food production initiated by the office of the regional governor together with the regional leadership.  The operation is aimed at assisting and inspiring Kavango East Region residents to produce their own food in order to become self-sufficient and ensure food security in the region.

Kavango East Region being one of the top Region in producing agricultural produces, FAO had an opportunity to brand and showcase the products, services and communicate key message to the visitors during the Expo.

The Governor for Kavango East, Samuel Kaveto Mbambo, said it was exciting and he felt privileged to host the first ever Food Namibia Expo.  He further said, Operation Werengendje is a vehicle for the restoration of human dignity in the Kavango East Region.  The Region has the green scheme impact to Namibia that the reason the first ever expo took place in the region.  The main idea is to compliment Government programme.