Musese Green Scheme produces animal feed from crop residue

The scheme, operated by Winni Metzger, utilizes dry grass, oats, maize crop residue, harvested maize remnants, and mahangu stalks to create green chops, silage, and hay. This feed is used for cattle, pigs, and chickens, with chicken feed currently sold to the public and other feeds primarily used for fattening cattle at the scheme. Seeds for grass and oats are imported from South Africa, and irrigation is powered by solar energy due to the high cost of conventional electricity.

Metzger, who owns approximately 2,500 head of cattle, integrates this feed production into his broader livestock and food business. He purchases cattle from local farmers, slaughters some for meat sold through his 15 Winnis Maize Shops, which also sell his branded maize meal and cooking oil. Metzger also supplies meat to butcheries and sells live cattle.

He anticipates the implementation of the NCA Livestock Equalisation Fund to benefit farmers and aims to expand his livestock market through Meatco’s commodity-based trading system, which would allow him to supply cattle to markets south of the veterinary cordon fence. A key challenge is the absence of a local quarantine facility, which Metzger plans to establish at the Musese Green Scheme, one of Namibia’s oldest green schemes, inaugurated in 1977.