HIV/AIDS is robbing subsistence farmers of the ability to grow enough food, according to a new survey conducted in northern Namibia. Out of 144 HIV-affected households in the Oshana, Oshikoto and Okavango Regions, 86 percent did not produce enough mahangu (pearl millet) and maize to meet their calorie requirements, said a report this week by the Namibia Economic Policy Research Unit (NEPRU).

An African Development Bank (ADB) loan to the tune of US $34 million has given Namibia's 'Green Scheme Project' a major boost. The ADB said the cash injection would provide a vital lifeline to the agricultural sector and assist in making the arid country "greener" through irrigation and crop development initiatives targeting the 70 percent of the country that relies on agriculture.

Teachers countrywide are poised to hold nationwide demonstrations to protest against Government's failure to implement salary increases and benefits. "We want to register our maximum anger and disappointment and thus put pressure on the Government to implement the Revised Salary Structure for Teachers without any further delay," the Namibia National Teachers' Union (Nantu) said in a statement at the weekend.