NAB promoting the sale of local fresh produce to end consumers

The Namibian Agronomic Board (NAB) is a statutory body governed by the Agronomic Industry Act, Act 20 of 1992, and it is mandated to promote the agronomic and horticulture industry and to facilitate the production, processing, storage, and marketing of controlled products in Namibia.

In an effort to effectively promote the sales of locally produced fruits and vegetables in Namibia, the NAB in collaboration with the Namibian Association of Traders in Fresh Produce (NATFP) embarked on implementing the eye-catching displays of Namibian fresh produce in all fresh produce shops across the country. This was aimed at guiding our consumers to spot local fresh produce on the shelves when shopping and to subsequently promote the sales of locally produced products in the country.

The eye-catching display initiative is a component of the Namibian Horticulture Market Share Promotion (MSP) Scheme which is being implemented by the NAB with the aim to promote the sale of locally produced horticultural products in Namibia.

The eye-catching display of Namibian fresh produce initiative was introduced in 2012 by the NAB. However, its implementation by traders has been slow and it has lacked uniformity (each store used its own signage to guide consumers) and as such in some instances, the consumers get confused and they have not been able to locate Namibian fresh produce on the shelves. Therefore, through collective efforts by the NAB and the NATFP, standard signage was developed and approved by the NAB board for implementation by all shops countrywide.

In order for the NAB to encourage traders and fast-tract the implementation process of this crucial project, all NATFP members are subsidised for the purchasing of the standard eye-catching signage. The subsidy entails the NAB paying the full cost of one shop per trader and if such a trader has more shops, the NAB will only pay N$ 1000.00 per shop. Namibian fresh produce traders heeded to this request and a total of 59 orders were received and subsidized by the NAB to date, with more orders expected before the end of November 2021.

All shops that are already implementing their eye-catching signage are permitted to continue using such signage for a maximum period of six (6) months, after which they are expected to replace the signage with the approved standard signage by March 2022.

To further enhance governance and ensure compliance to this requirement, the NAB’s Standard Compliance Inspectors will commence with the inspection of shops from effective 01 December 2021, and non-compliant shops will be subjected to punitive measures as stipulated in the existing MSP rules and procedures.