The Namibia Agronomic Board has secured strategic temporary storage solutions to manage the massive expected upcoming surge in white maize production. These proactive measures ensure the industry can effectively accommodate the following record-breaking yields according to Loide Uahengo, Manager: Agronomy Development at the Namibia Agronomic Board.
Namibia is expecting a bumper harvest of white maize for the 2026 marketing season, estimated at 111,447 tons. This represents a 61% increase compared to the 69,282 tons harvested in 2025, and this harvest is
expected to cover about 60% of white maize grain annual demand for Namibia, meaning only 40% is expected to be imported during this year.
The Current Challenge
The projected growth in volumes expected to be harvested is largely attributed to expansion in hectares under irrigation, as 69% of the expected harvest will come from irrigated production, and dryland only 31%.
The bulk of the maize is expected to be harvested and marketed from May to August 2026.
The harvest expected will not be purchased by millers at once, as the domestic milling rate is also expected to slow down to about 12,000 tons per month, due to expected good harvest of competing products such as mahangu grain and limited government tenders, thus prolonging the marketing season to about 9 months.
Hence, the need for temporary grain storage, as the storage available at milling facilities is not sufficient to accommodate the entire expected harvest at once, and also given the large amount of cash required by millers to purchase the expected harvest in the shortest possible time.
Therefore, the NAB engaged the grain industry players at the meeting that was held on 10 April to discuss amongst others, the issues, the need for temporal grain storage for the 2026 marketing season.
Temporary Storage Solutions
At the said meeting, the grain industry agreed that storage available at both on-farm and milling facilities must be used to temporarily store grain while waiting for a buyer. It was also determined that the maize from the Zambezi production zone will be purchased by millers in the region, and there is sufficient storage in Katima Mulilo to accommodate the expected harvest of about 6,000 tons.
The maize from the South Production zone of about 12,826 tons will be temporarily stored at the Hardap cooperative silos for Windhoek delivery, while the maize from the central production zone of about 23,829 tons will also be delivered to millers in Windhoek.
Lastly, the maize expected from the maize triangle of about 42,840 tons will be delivered mostly in Otavi, where temporary grain storage will be availed by millers at a cost, with option of silo bags being considered.
The maize from Kavango and north central production zones of about 26,000 tons will be temporarily stored on-farm while being delivered slowly to the millers and the National Strategic Food Reserve under the Agro- Marketing and Trade Agency, though a small portion of the harvest will be milled on farm.
In order to address the problem of grain storage in the future, the NAB is planning to construct commercial grain storage facilities, to be used as marketing facilities, targeting the main grain production areas, with total capacity of 30,000 tons to 40,000 tons, and if approved , this will be implemented during the 2026/2027 and 2027/2028 financial years.
