Upcoming local farmers have called on the Namibian government to follow the example set by the South African government to subsidize Nguni cattle farmers in the country.

The requests follow the realization by some black farmers of the advantages of farming with Nguni’s and preserving the African breed.
Upcoming Nguni farmer in the Omaheke region, Shafewa Shino, told Informanté that such a subsidy is a necessity to protect the indigenous gene pool.
“Government should follow the example of the South African government which subsidizes Nguni cattle farmers,” says Shino.
“At the moment not many black farmers own large farms with adequate grazing; so farming with Nguni’s allows maximum utilization of grass and shrubs as Nguni’s are known to brows on a lot of bushes and not only on grass alone” says Shino. 
Kiep Lepen, the stud breeding manager at Agra and well-known Nguni farmer, echoed the said sentiments, “The South African government only subsidizes upcoming farmers, through providing funds to enable farmers with an interest in Nguni farming to purchase cattle to start off with. It however doesn’t do the same for established Nguni farmers” says Lepen. 
Asked whether Nguni farming has a way forward for Namibian cattle farmers considering the dry environment, Lepen replied, “not necessary as all breeds of cattle offer something unique to the farmer, however Nguni’s are hardy, highly fertile, cost less to maintain and consume less supplements than most other breeds”.
According to a recent Nguni study in Swaziland, “Nguni cattle descend from both Bos Taurus and Bos Indicus cattle and entered Africa around 8,000 years ago.  Through natural selection and environmental interaction the cattle evolved into the hardy breed known today as the Nguni. The breed is highly adaptable and can survive and reproduce efficiently in difficult management and environmental situations, at the same time still reproducing well and giving good quality beef and milk’.