Namibia’s Agricultural Sector Struggles to Keep Pace

Recent figures released by the Agricultural Bank of Namibia on Wednesday reveal that employment opportunities within the farming sector have dwindled from 34 per cent in 2012 to just 23 per cent.

More people are employed in the agricultural sector in Namibia than any other, in yet further worrying signs that the economy is struggling.  This comes after the news earlier this week that Finch Ratings had downgraded the country’s creditworthiness to BB.

Agribank’s chief executive Sakaria Nghikembua explained how the decline in the sector’s contribution to total GDP means “its contribution to employment-creation and the contribution to the total economy has gone down”.

In spite of this, Namibia is set to become one of eleven countries across both Africa and Asia to benefit from a new programme funded by the Global Environment Facility on dryland landscapes.

The idea of the project is to support the use of natural resources in the country’s northern Mopane-Miombo belt.  The programme will be led by the Food and Agriculture Organisation.

Government officials and farmers will be hoping this new investment will provide the kickstart the sector needs, which should hopefully start to create more job opportunities in the future.