Namibia country report

At Drimiopsis in Omaheke, two communal gardens of about 3 ha each were irrigated withborehole water. In addition, about 3 km from the centre of the scheme, 55 ha were clearedin 2001 for dryland maize cultivation. However, this land had not been ploughed in recentyears. The reason for this was said to be waning interest due to the long distance betweenthe field and the beneficiaries’ homes: it was too far a distance to walk every day, and alsoit facilitated theft from both the field and their homes. Beneficiaries also complained thatthey did not have any food while out cultivating the field. When they started cultivating it,they were still receiving food under the Food for Work Programme. When the programmeended, they stopped cultivating the field, but continued cultivating the two communalgardens closer to home. Many households also had a small backyard garden at home.Until 2002, Cuban agricultural advisers supported communal gardening on the groupresettlement schemes in Omaheke and Hardap, and elsewhere in Namibia. From 2002until 2007 when the Livelihoods Support Programme (LISUP) started, group resettlementbeneficiaries did not receive any agricultural advice. The MLR provided seed and fertiliserduring that period, and made a tractor available, but did not provide diesel or tractor partssuch as tyres.In 2007, the two communal gardens at Drimiopsis were subdivided into individual plots.These were very small, measuring 45 m x 12 m or about 540 m 2 . This initiative originated inthe LISUP which was implemented at Drimiopsis and Skoonheid by the Desert ResearchFoundation of Namibia (DRFN) in association with a Spanish NGO. The LISUP supportedbeneficiaries with agricultural inputs, technical advice and transport to market produce inGobabis. The produce was for sale, but what was not sold was consumed.Beneficiaries were encouraged to produce for the market and not only for own consumption.To facilitate good sales, they were encouraged to be aware of what types of crops were indemand. Certain crops were always in demand, but some, such as potatoes and tomatoes,were costly to produce whereas others, such as onions, carrots and beetroot, were not. Dueto their high costs, no fertilisers and insecticides were used, which sometimes resulted inproduce of lesser quality. In Omaheke, maize and beans were produced mainly for ownconsumption.Occasionally, the Skoonheid project was able to sell some of its produce at a farmers’market in Windhoek. Attempts were made to enter into contracts with shops and vegetableoutlets to supply produce on a regular basis, but the beneficiaries found it difficult todeliver. Problems experienced with the irregular water supply, for example, meant that anagreement concluded in 2006 with a catering enterprise in Gobabis to buy fresh producefrom the Skoonheid garden came to nothing, and deliveries remained irregular. Sometimesthe beneficiaries sold their produce next to the road between Gobabis and Otjinene.Needles to say, transport was essential to market produce whenever it became available.This was mostly provided by government, and the Spanish Co-operation also assisted. In2008 a government car shuttled between Gobabis and Skoonheid several times a week.Whenever transport was needed for getting produce to the market, the project co-ordinatorLivelihoods after Section Land Reform: B ● 6. Group Namibia Resettlement country report Schemes (2010) ● 137