Improving rural livelihoods in Namibia

Context

The Namibian agricultural and food industry continues is important for the country's economy. However, especially in communal land areas, agricultural production is largely geared towards the self-sufficiency of producers and their families. Their challenges include low harvests, high dependency on rainfall, limited water access, high production losses and poor pasture management practices.

Droughts and the COVID-19 pandemic have made it clear that small-scale producers and agricultural businesses need to become more resilient to external influences. This is the only way to secure food supplies in the long term.

Objective

The Namibian agricultural and food sector is more resilient to the climate and other external influences.

Approach

The project cooperates with the Namibian Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries, Water and Land Reform (MAFWLR) and focuses on four areas of action in which it offers training and advisory services:

1. producing and propagating seed,
2. producing in a climate-adapted manner,
3. producing, processing and marketing, and
4. securing food and nutrition.

The project is aimed at producer organisations, agricultural cooperatives, small-scale producers and agricultural entrepreneurs, as well as schools in communal land areas. There is a focus on women and young people.

The project also works closely with political decision-makers and partners from the fields of academia, the financial and private sectors as well as civil society.

The project also focuses on drought relief to improve water infrastructure such as irrigation systems, the food situation, for example through food preservation, and agricultural production such as in horticulture.

Last update: June 2025