Climate-smart agriculture to ensure food security

Namibians owe it to the 70% of the population that depends directly or indirectly on agriculture in terms of food, income and livelihoods to ensure that climate-smart agriculture is promoted and practised.

This was emphasised by agriculture minister Alpheus !Naruseb, whose speech was delivered at a conference on the state of sustainable natural resources management in Namibia.

The conference was organised by the Hans Seidel Foundation and took place in Windhoek yesterday. It deliberated on the current state of agriculture in Namibia and climate-smart ways to ensure rural development and food security.

!Naruseb said climate change is recognised as one of the world's biggest development challenges in the 21st century and it continues to pose serious threats to the environment and human life.

“Climate change is undermining efforts to achieve key development goals towards rural development, poverty reduction and food security.”

He said to counteract the numerous risks associated with climate change there are many ongoing initiatives at global, regional and national levels.

At global level, such initiatives include the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) and the Paris Agreement.

According to !Naruseb the country's vulnerability to climate change is underlined by continued exposure to extreme weather such as flooding and droughts, erratic rainfall patterns as well as gradual temperature increases.

As a result, Namibia is classified as one of the countries at risk, in terms of agricultural losses.”

He stressed that climate-resilient approaches and responsible agricultural investments should be made to improve productivity and increase yields.

“About 70% of our population depends directly or indirectly on agriculture in terms of food, income and livelihoods.”

That is why agriculture has been singled out as one of the priority sectors that should be harnessed to bring about much-needed socioeconomic development, taking into account the effects of climate change.

He said shifting from traditional farming practices to a climate-smart approach would not only help protect farmers from the adverse effects of climate change and offer a way to reduce greenhouse-gas emissions, but would also improve farm yields and household incomes, leading to stronger, more resilient communities.

Agribank CEO Sakaria Nghikembua pointed out that with the economy in severe recession, it requires a reboot from consistent sectors and agriculture could be a significant contributor to growth.

He noted that perennial droughts appear to be the norm in Namibia. Since the 1990/1991 rainy season, there have been nine droughts declared in the country.

Furthermore Nghikembua said agriculture's contribution to employment has concomitantly declined over time, while funding of the agricultural sector has been increasing.

The Namibia Agriculture Union pointed out in a presentation that primary agriculture is crucial to revitalising the economy.

“Growth starts at farm level, and will only happen when it is profitable. If primary production is destroyed, the total value chain disintegrates. If N$1 is invested in primary agriculture, N$3-4 is generated in the total economy. Primary production generated N$7.5 billion in cash last year,” the union said.

The union said the sector needs urgent support to ensure that primary producers recover after the disastrous drought.

“We need to restore the balance between grass and bush on about 45 million hectares of rangeland to mitigate the impact of climate change.”

The union added that a healthy, productive primary agricultural sector in Namibia creates rural jobs and livelihoods, reduces migration from rural to urban areas; and multiplies job opportunities in the rest of the value chain.