Meatco eyes return to canned meat production
Meatco is planning to revive former canning facilities as part of a broader strategy to strengthen food security and expand the supply of protein to government feeding programmes.
The plans were outlined by interim managing director Albertus Aochamub during a courtesy visit by Prime Minister Elijah Ngurare to the cooperative.
Aochamub said reopening the canneries would enable Meatco to supply canned meat for drought relief, school feeding schemes and other government institutions, while making use of infrastructure that had previously been mothballed.
He identified former canning facilities in Oshakati, Rundu and Eenhana as part of the proposed revival.
"We've closed it in the past, but we will reopen those because it only makes sense in a national context," Aochamub said.
He said canned meat offered practical advantages over fresh products, including a longer shelf life and easier distribution because it does not require continuous refrigeration.
According to Aochamub, the products could also be supplied to institutions such as prisons and the police, helping improve access to affordable sources of protein while supporting national food security objectives.
The Meatco chief said the facilities represented public investments that could once again play a strategic role in supplying food to the country.
Alongside the cannery plans, Aochamub provided an update on outstanding payments to livestock producers who participated in the government's drought relief programme.
He said around N$8 million owed to farmers is now being processed after administrative reconciliation issues delayed payments.
"The paperwork had nothing to do with your officials not paying," he told the prime minister. "It had everything to do with how in the past we were doing the reconciliations, but not properly."
Aochamub said the Office of the Prime Minister had insisted on complete documentation before authorising payments and that Meatco had since complied with those requirements.
