Namibia country report

Table 9: Age and gender distributions of FURS household headsAge distribution Omaheke Hardap20-59 years 5 42% 13 65%60 years and older 7 58% 7 35%Total 12 20Gender distribution 8 males, 4 females 18 males, 2 femalesIn Hardap, 35% of the FURS farmers were older than the official retirement age of 60, whilein Omaheke more than 50% were older than 60. The 2003/04 PTT survey (ibid.) found 30%of beneficiaries to be older than 60.These figures, and those produced by the PTT (2005a and 2005b), indicate that youngerpeople are severely underrepresented in land redistribution. The reasons for this are not clear.One explanation may be that younger people are not interested in agricultural productionand hence do not bother to apply for resettlement. A less likely alternative explanationcould be that younger people have been less successful than older people in applying forresettlement.A closer look at the age profiles of all members of FURS households in Hardap and Omahekereveals that people beyond retirement age were more prominently represented on FURSfarms than in these regions on the whole. The age profiles are presented in Table 10 below.In Hardap, the number of pre-school children on FURS farms was much lower than in theregion as a whole. In both regions the number of people in the economically active agegroup (15-59 years) was higher than the regional average. One household in Omaheke hadno member in the economically active age group but only members under 14 and over 60years of age.Table 10: Age distribution of FURS household members by region – Omaheke and HardapAge group(years)Omaheke*FURS Omaheke(N=68)Hardap*FURS Hardap(N=88)0-5 15% 13% 13% 4%6-14 26% 16% 23% 14%15-59 51% 55% 55% 66%60+ 8% 16% 9% 16%*Source: Omaheke Regional Poverty Profile, 2006; Hardap Regional Poverty Profile, 2006It is interesting that in the FURS sample in Hardap, the percentage of very young childrenwas comparatively low. As mentioned earlier, it is common for parents in town to send theirchildren to reside on farms with family, but in Hardap, with very long distances betweentowns and the FURS farms, this phenomenon is possibly less frequent than elsewhere,especially in respect of infants and toddlers.Most of the household heads interviewed in both regions were male, as Table 11 reflects.The PTT study conducted in 2003/04 found a gender distribution of 72% male and 28%female (ibid.).86 ● Livelihoods after land reform: Namibia country report (2010)