Agriculture sector lacks coordination

Although Namibia is doing a lot in the agriculture sector, there is a lack of coordination, a review report of the country’s sector found.According to the Namibia agriculture joint sector review report (JSR), there is evidence of processes and good initiatives that have stayed unimplemented for a long time due to this limitation within the sector.A draft report was presented during a recent stakeholder validation workshop.“There is weak coordination among ministries and development agencies in the implementation of agriculture policies. There is also not much communication among sectors and institutions and little drive to enforce such linkages,” key findings contained in the report state. Harmonise work It also pointed out that a lack of data is a bottleneck to policy formulation, progress reviews and development.“However, noteworthy is that data is available but is scattered all over due to the unavailability of a centralised data portal.”According to the report, information and data sharing need to be enhanced for improved mutual accountability in progress reporting.“While policies and regulations may be clear in theory, institutions tend to operate in silos," the report points out. It recommends harmonising the formulation of policies with the line ministries and agencies.“While the legal and policy frameworks among sectors managed by different line ministries are adequate, there is still a lack of coherence in the implementation of these policies, which often results in duplication of effort.”Mutual accountability Speaking at the workshop, executive director of the agriculture ministry, Ndiyakupi Nghituwamata, said this is the first JSR assessment for Namibia.It was conducted in partnership with the Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) and the Southern African Development Community (SADC).According to her, the workshop was about strengthening mutual accountability and implementing the comprehensive African agriculture development programme (CAADP) result framework as part of the commitments made under the Malabo Declaration.Nghituwamata said that continental surveys on joint sector reviews have underscored the importance of the views, ideas and suggestions of stakeholders in policy, programme and project design, planning, implementation and evaluation. “The purpose this workshop is to share the findings of the JSR assessment exercise with the stakeholders and jointly map a way forward.”She said that in this regard, it is very important that Namibia take into account the performance results against public expenditure in the sector and discuss ways of strengthening mutual accountability and stakeholder participation in policy review, design, implementation and evaluation in an effort to contribute towards the Malabo Commitments.

Agriculture sector lacks coordination

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Namibian Sun 2026-01-08

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Agriculture sector lacks coordination

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Namibian Sun 2026-01-08

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