August 13, 2020

Namibia's dairy sector struggles to survive amid pandemic

For years, the dairy sector of Namibia has been in the midst of a serious crisis and now, it is on the brink of collapse due to the COVID-19 pandemic, a union official said Monday, Xinhua reported.

According to spokesperson of the Namibia Agricultural Union (NAU) Erika von Gierszewski, the local dairy industry is on the verge of imploding and total extinction has become a reality.

"This crisis is now out of control and serious intervention is needed at all levels," the spokesperson said.

"The COVID-19 pandemic means that milk producers can no longer depend on resources from elsewhere. It is therefore necessary to support primary production, so that sufficient raw materials may be available to the whole value chain," she said.

Von Gierszewski also said the local dairy industry is facing challenges such as cheap imported dairy products, increased feed costs, ongoing droughts that have affected the water levels at dams and the current difficult economic situation amid COVID-19.

She added that local dairy producers are in the processes of drafting possible solutions to save the industry.