Namibia President Hage Geingob vowed Monday to push ahead with land redistribution, echoing the government of neighbouring South Africa, where the issue has become a fierce political battleground. 

The Namibian agricultural industry is calling for security provision from the policies governing the sector.

NAMIBIAN Agronomic Board chairperson Michael Iyambo said the trade performance of the horticulture industry has been increasing over the years, despite the challenges encountered by the industry regarding tied climatic conditions.

South Africa and neighbouring Namibia met to share notes, best practice and common interest in rural development and land reform.

More than 400 buffaloes believed to have been chased by lions drowned in a river in northern Botswana this week, the government said.

While land reform has dominated South Africa’s headlines, it has also emerged as a major polarising issue in Namibia ahead of next year’s national election. Populist pressure, fears around the trajectory of the economy and uncertainty about how the process will be administered in Namibia have raised alarm, particularly among investors.

Smart farming principles have become the focus for some Namibian farmers as predictions point to a drastically changing farming landscape in the years to come as climate change is expected to seriously impact fodder production in Namibia. 

As the year draws to a close with poor prospects of rains, Namibian sheep farmers in the south have all their hopes pinned on a revised and improved sheep exporting scheme early next year.

The impact of climate change continues to have devastating effects on countries across the globe, and Namibia has not been spared.

Rain is the glue that holds Namibia’s agriculture-based economy, especially for subsistence farmers in the semi-arid southern African nation.

Lions in Namibia have turned to hunting seabirds and seals in the face of scarce food resources in the desert landscape, research has found.

In the Aussenkehr Valley of southern Namibia, where early summer temperatures have already reached 40°C and the annual rainfall is about 35mm, vineyards are flourishing on the banks of the Orange River.

WINDHOEK- Namibia yesterday became the first African nation to export beef to People’s Republic of China, when it transported the first 21 tonnes of beef to China the world’s largest consumer market.

The South African Poultry Association (SAPA) said on Tuesday that it had noted with alarm that the insidious dumping of chicken from Brazil that plagues the local industry has also taken root in Namibia.

Namibia is suffering the worst drought in recent history, with the entire country affected by the dry conditions leaving rangelands barren and parched.

The Namibia Agricultural Union (NAU) in cooperation with the Namibia Emerging Commercial Farmers Union (NECFU) has urgently requested the agriculture minister Alpheus !Naruseb to declare the 2019 drought a national disaster. 

The 2018/19 season has proved to be one of the most difficult seasons for the table grape industry, due to difficult growing conditions and a market flooded with product, leading to lower prices. In spite of a difficult season the ARRA varieties, managed by TopFruit, still received positive feedback from growers and the markets.

 The agriculture and forestry sector recorded its worst quarter since 2013 and agriculture has now spent three consecutive quarters in the red, registering a contraction of 6.7 percent in real value added during the first quarter of 2019 relative to a growth of 0.3 percent recorded during the same period in 2018.  

Namibia plans to import fresh fruits and vegetables from Zimbabwe, trying to close the gap for the country’s demand for fruits and vegetables.