N$109m for 44 000 farmers

JANA-MARI SMITHThe United Nations Green Climate Fund (GCF) has approved funding of N$109 million, which will be used to assist 44 000 smallholder farmers in the Kunene, in a bid to reduce their vulnerability to climate change.The fund was set up by the 194 countries who are parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change.An additional N$8.2 million (US$700 000) is being co-funded by the Namibian government for the project.The five-year climate adaptation project, titled ‘Improving rangeland and ecosystem management practices of smallholder farmers under conditions of climate change in the Sesfontein, Fransfontein, and Warmquelle areas of Namibia’, will be administered by the Environmental Investment Fund (EIF) of Namibia, the accredited national entity to GCF, and it will be implemented by agriculture ministry.The project is expected to start on 1 June and is aimed at reducing the vulnerability of smallholder farmers to climate change conditions by safeguarding natural capital that generates ecosystem services to sustain agricultural production systems.This was announced at a joint media conference in Windhoek yesterday.Agriculture minister Alpheus !Naruseb highlighted that Namibia remains one of the most vulnerable countries to the impacts of climate change and is characterised by irregular rainfall and long periods of drought.The minister said the funding for the EIF project, to be based in three areas of the Kunene region, is particularly welcome as the region has “particularly and consistently been hard hit by drought events over the past ten years”.!Naruseb explained that the project will support the rehabilitation of two green scheme facilities at Sesfontein (11 hectares) and Warmquelle (seven hectares) and another at Fransfontein (40 hectares).The facilities will further be used as learning centres for climate-smart production practices.Environment minister Pohamba Shifeta explained that the grant financing project, approved by the GCF board on 1 March, “is a testimony to Namibia’s early inroads into the climate adaptation sphere”.This is the third climate adaptation project the ministry has successfully submitted for funding.The ministry is the nationally designated authority liaising with the GCF to ensure a country-driven approach, while accessing the fund’s resources.Urgent adaptation neededIn a speech read on his behalf, finance minister Calle Schlettwein highlighted the urgency of tackling changes to climatic conditions in Namibia’s agriculture sector.“The agriculture sector in Namibia remains central to the lives of the majority of the population. Directly or indirectly it supports over 70% of the country’s population.”In the worst case scenario, it is estimated that Namibia could lose between 27 to 32% of maize, sorghum and millet production due to a rise in global temperatures.Over the past five years, a steady decline in agricultural productivity in Namibia has been observed, primarily because of prolonged droughts.The drought shocks led to government spending an average of N$700 million per year on drought relief, while diverting resources from other developmental priorities to cater for humanitarian needs.It is estimated that the total investment needed by Namibia over the next 30 years to safeguard resources and maintain a sustainable growth trajectory is between N$380 and N$400 billion.“It is clear therefore that public finance alone can come nowhere near meeting the total financing needs for the transition to be inclusive, low-emission and climate-resilient development,” Schlettwein said.Shifeta noted that the EIF has mobilised close to N$1 billion over a period of two years for climate financing from multilateral agencies and development partners.He added that Namibia stands to access close to N$3 billion in grants from the GCF annually, until 2022, for climate adaptation projects across all sectors.He said these grants not only supplement state finances, but offer a solution “that may ease the burden on government’s planned social spending on the rural poor, vulnerable and marginalised”.He praised the EIF’s work, under the leadership of Benedict Libanda, who despite a diminishing budget, has continued to successfully mobilise the type of financial resources for the country’s environmental sector.

N$109m for 44 000 farmers

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Namibian Sun 2025-09-18

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N$109m for 44 000 farmers

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Namibian Sun 2025-09-18

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