usaid/nambia environmental threats and opportunities assessment

land that was previously used only seasonally. The Emerging Commercial Farmers Support Programme
was started in 2007 to assist new farmers, but there is a marked absence of local level organizations to
assist MAWF and development partners to implement this and other programs.
Dryland cropping, particularly of mahangu (millet), has led to soil degradation through poor practices,
exacerbated by the government-subsidized tractor ploughing services that concentrate on disc harrowing,
which compacts the soil and inhibits root growth. The recent Conservation Tillage Project aims to
reverse this damage to dryland-cropping soils, improve soil fertility and simultaneously improve mahangu
yields.
Efforts to improve livestock productivity on communal lands include the Bull Scheme and the recently
initiated Five-year Millennium Challenge Account (MCA) programme – which aims, inter alia, 7 to
improve livestock quality and rangeland management in the Northern Communal Area (NCAs). Whilst
the Rangeland Policy recognizes that there is a strong connection between productivity and stability of
rangelands and biodiversity, the environmental problems associated with conventional freehold and
communal farming and the growing demand for farmland (land clearing, deforestation, overgrazing, soil
erosion, bush encroachment) have had, and are likely to continue having, negative impacts on
biodiversity.
Whilst Green Scheme projects have had a positive (though localized) effect on livelihoods, plans for
expanding this sector may be overambitious given Namibia’s water limitations, escalating costs, and the
need for advanced management and technical skills. Unfortunately, the revised Green Scheme Policy
has removed the requirement for training to be given to small-scale farmers and weakens the potential
for the scheme to attract skilled irrigation farmers and build local capacity in irrigated agriculture.
Furthermore, Namibia’s soils are highly susceptible to salinization and irrigation demands high input
from fertilizers and pesticides.
The Agriculture Policy states that subsidies, which distort prices and discourage private sector
investment in agriculture, should be discontinued. However, direct subsidization from MAWF in
agriculture is actually increasing (e.g. in fertilizers, seeds, tractor ploughing, and weeding services). Such
subsidization increases dependence on government services (which are often inefficient) and
disempowers local business development.
Overall, poor implementation of the agriculture policy cluster threatens biodiversity conservation and reduces
the ability of rural communities to adapt to Namibia’s increasing climatic variability.
2. WATER
The Department of Water Affairs (DWA) in MAWF is responsible for allocation of water use permits
and administration, while the Directorate of Rural Water Supply (DRWS) handles rural water provision
and management. NamWater is responsible for bulk water supply and Local Authorities (LAs) for
infrastructure and management in towns. Catchment-based management and planning (through Basin
Management Committees –BMCs), now being used by DWA, encourages much-needed integration
between sectors.
Institutional aspects are not clearly spelt out in the policies, and strategies for implementation are mostly
inadequate. For example, the policies provide for progressive stepped tariffs (i.e. rising block tariffs) and
7 Other components of the MCA programme are support to conservancies, improving the management and marketing of
indigenous natural products, and support to the education sector.
26 USAID/NAMIBIA ENVIRONMENTAL THREATS AND OPPORTUNITIES ASSESSMENT