Agriculture accounts for 23% of jobs in Namibia
Climatic shocks biggest threat for sector
Agriculture's contribution to Namibia's gross domestic product (GDP) has declined with each climatic shock since 2008, a recent report has shown.
Despite Namibia’s scarce arable land and vulnerability to climate shocks, over 70% of the population depend on the agriculture sector for their livelihood, and 23% of the country’s workforce are employed in the sector.
The World Bank Group and the International Finance Corporation in their recent country private sector diagnostic report said Namibia is classified as an arid country, with only about 1% of the country’s 82.4 million hectares under production, and only 43 500 hectares (0.05%) identified as irrigable.
It said that historically, the agriculture sector has been dominated by livestock and cereal production.
In the cereal subsector, Namibia harvests primarily maize and millet in small quantities.
In 2021, production was expected to be slightly above average at 165 000 tonnes.
“But Namibia remains a net importer of cereals, with imports accounting for two-thirds of domestic consumption.”
Promising trend
Meanwhile the livestock and horticulture sectors show increasing promise for climate-smart investments.
The report says that livestock accounts for just over half of Namibia’s agricultural production and 90% of its agricultural exports.
“But despite its substantial contribution to Namibia’s export market, the livestock sector is among the least labour-intensive agricultural subsectors.”
The horticulture subsector accounted for 1.5% (or US$101 million) of exports in 2019. Grapes were the leading output, accounting for 69.8% of horticulture exports, followed by tropical plants (6.4%).
Climatic shocks remain the biggest threat for the sector.
“In the last decade, Namibia has experienced both El Niño and La Niña events that led to extreme droughts and floods.”
Threats
Agriculture’s contribution to Namibia's gross domestic product (GDP) has declined with each climatic shock since 2008, the report states.
“The 2019 drought—the worst in 90 years—saw an estimated 90 000 livestock deaths.”
Given livestock’s dominance in Namibia’s export basket, the drought had an adverse effect on trade balances.
“The drought also had a catastrophic impact on food security,” the report noted.
Between October 2019 and March 2020, an estimated 430 000 people experienced severe food insecurity. This was a result of the decline in food production; maize and millet decreased by 26% and 89% respectively, between 2018 and 2019.
“These climatic shocks have resulted in expansionary fiscal policies for drought relief.”
Furthermore, the report noted that land degradation and climate change together threaten food production, food security, natural resource conservation and economic development.
“Land degradation encompasses the loss of the productive capacity of land due to a combination of human-induced factors, such as soil erosion, acidification, nutrient leaching, and compaction. In Namibia, land degradation is estimated to cost 19% of GDP.”
The World Bank Group and the International Finance Corporation in their recent country private sector diagnostic report said Namibia is classified as an arid country, with only about 1% of the country’s 82.4 million hectares under production, and only 43 500 hectares (0.05%) identified as irrigable.
It said that historically, the agriculture sector has been dominated by livestock and cereal production.
In the cereal subsector, Namibia harvests primarily maize and millet in small quantities.
In 2021, production was expected to be slightly above average at 165 000 tonnes.
“But Namibia remains a net importer of cereals, with imports accounting for two-thirds of domestic consumption.”
Promising trend
Meanwhile the livestock and horticulture sectors show increasing promise for climate-smart investments.
The report says that livestock accounts for just over half of Namibia’s agricultural production and 90% of its agricultural exports.
“But despite its substantial contribution to Namibia’s export market, the livestock sector is among the least labour-intensive agricultural subsectors.”
The horticulture subsector accounted for 1.5% (or US$101 million) of exports in 2019. Grapes were the leading output, accounting for 69.8% of horticulture exports, followed by tropical plants (6.4%).
Climatic shocks remain the biggest threat for the sector.
“In the last decade, Namibia has experienced both El Niño and La Niña events that led to extreme droughts and floods.”
Threats
Agriculture’s contribution to Namibia's gross domestic product (GDP) has declined with each climatic shock since 2008, the report states.
“The 2019 drought—the worst in 90 years—saw an estimated 90 000 livestock deaths.”
Given livestock’s dominance in Namibia’s export basket, the drought had an adverse effect on trade balances.
“The drought also had a catastrophic impact on food security,” the report noted.
Between October 2019 and March 2020, an estimated 430 000 people experienced severe food insecurity. This was a result of the decline in food production; maize and millet decreased by 26% and 89% respectively, between 2018 and 2019.
“These climatic shocks have resulted in expansionary fiscal policies for drought relief.”
Furthermore, the report noted that land degradation and climate change together threaten food production, food security, natural resource conservation and economic development.
“Land degradation encompasses the loss of the productive capacity of land due to a combination of human-induced factors, such as soil erosion, acidification, nutrient leaching, and compaction. In Namibia, land degradation is estimated to cost 19% of GDP.”
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