Rundu Technology Centre to reopen in three months

Patience Makwele The Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries, Water and Land Reform is moving to revive the long-dormant Rundu Technology Centre. The N$36 million facility has struggled to fulfil its mandate since its establishment more than a decade ago. The ministry recently held stakeholder consultations in Rundu to map out a recovery plan for the centre, which was originally created to support agricultural mechanisation for green scheme irrigation projects and subsistence farmers across Namibia.

The centre is expected to reopen in the next three months. Speaking during the engagement, director of agricultural production Ben Haraseb said the ministry is reassessing the deployment strategy and operational capacity of the facility after years of underperformance despite significant government investment. “It is very crucial for us to relook at the strategy of the deployment under this technology centre,”

Haraseb said. The Rundu Technology Centre was established in 2015 to provide repairs, maintenance and manufacturing services for agricultural machinery used by green scheme projects and emerging farmers. Haraseb said assessments have already been conducted to determine which equipment remains available and what gaps need to be addressed before operations can fully resume.