Namibia -- By-products from the Etunda Irrigation Scheme that were previously discarded as waste, will now go towards the production of livestock feed, where there is currently a large demand for livestock feed.
Newly appointed manager of the Etunda Irrigation Scheme in the Omusati Region, Johan le Riche, has come up with a new revenue stream for the project.
The Namibian Etunda has been established for 20 years now, and during this time it has just concentrated on the production of maize flour and wheat flour, without looking at whether the by-products can be turned into something useful.
Le Riche said that currently all by-products from the processing of the maize and wheat were going to waste. Le Riche has decided to produce animal feed that farmers in the North can buy to feed their livestock in times of drought.
"All the by-products were going to waste. I thought something must be done," said Le Riche.
He said when the rains are over, many farmers find it hard to find enough grazing for their cattle and the fodder from Etunda will help keep their animals going during dry spells.
"I realised that there is no manufacturing plant for animal feed," he said.
The supplementary animal feeds that Etunda is producing are a mixture of grass, maize, cracked wheat, bran and salt and vary in price depending on how many ingredients are put in.
Le Riche, who stared at Etunda six months ago, said there has been a big demand for the animal feed.
The Etunda Irrigation Scheme is a Green Scheme project of the Ministry of Agriculture and 600 hectares of land is under irrigation at the project.
