Zaamwani: Resettlement farms not for 'weekend getaways'

Agriculture minister Inge Zaamwani says land should go to people who will actively farm it, rather than those who acquire it as a lifestyle asset, as government considers overhauling Namibia's resettlement beneficiary selection criteria.

Launching the revised 2023 National Resettlement Policy in Windhoek on Friday, Zaamwani said the current system places too much emphasis on academic qualifications and should instead prioritise applicants with proven farming ability.

"The real successful farmers are not PhD holders. They just roll up their sleeves in their overalls and get the job done far better than other PhD farmers," she said.

"Let's give land to the people who are going to work on it, not use it as a retreat for weekends and holidays."

Her remarks signal a possible review of the current resettlement scoring system, under which applicants with master's and PhD qualifications automatically receive higher scores.

"If you have a master's degree or a PhD, you get more scores. That one, colleagues, we need to revise it," Zaamwani said.

The minister made the remarks during the launch of the revised National Resettlement Policy, which replaces the 2001 framework and incorporates recommendations from the Second National Land Conference held in 2018.

The new policy is intended to transform resettlement from a programme focused largely on land redistribution into one centred on productive land use, food security and economic empowerment.

Among its reforms is the introduction of differentiated resettlement models that recognise the varying experience and support needs of beneficiaries, including emerging commercial farmers and communal farmers.

The policy also creates a pathway for successful beneficiaries to progress from leasehold tenure to conditional freehold ownership.

However, Zaamwani stressed that beneficiaries will not be allowed to acquire land, sell it for profit and then rejoin the resettlement queue.

"If you want to sell or no longer want the land, government will allocate it to somebody else. We have seen people acquire assets, sell them and then join the queue again. We want to avoid that," she said.

The revised policy also seeks to address one of the programme's long-standing weaknesses by strengthening post-settlement support.

Zaamwani said many resettled farmers had complained they were left to fend for themselves after receiving land.

"I have met many farmers who told me that since they were resettled nobody from the ministry has come to see how they are doing or whether they are struggling," she said.

Under the new framework, beneficiaries will receive continued support through agricultural extension services, technical training, infrastructure development, improved access to Agribank finance, market linkages and stronger institutional support.

Namibia currently produces about 40% of its food requirements, with government aiming to increase that figure to 80% by 2030.

"We want to transform the resettlement programme into a productive land utilisation and economic empowerment programme, not just purely for resettlement purposes," Zaamwani said.

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