Namibia has initiated a national agriculture resilience programme designed to improve food security and climate adaptation across five drought-affected regions. The project was launched on Tuesday in Windhoek and is set to benefit more than 6,000 women and youth-led households, representing approximately 24,000 individuals. This initiative arrives in response to increasing climate volatility that has severely impacted food production and rural livelihoods across the country.
Ndiyakupi Nghituwamata, Executive Director in the Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries, Water and Land Reform, said during the launch that the project aims to assist communities that are struggling with prolonged droughts. Namibia, one of the driest countries in sub-Saharan Africa, has faced successive seasons of erratic rainfall and warming temperatures. According to the Ministry’s estimates, over 1.4 million Namibians faced food insecurity during the 2023 to 2024 period, highlighting the urgent need for sustainable agricultural interventions.
The adaptive agriculture programme provides beneficiaries with access to agricultural inputs, small livestock and climate-smart farming technologies. Among these are solar-powered irrigation systems, hydroponic setups and shade-net structures, which offer solutions that do not rely on conventional rainfall patterns. These technologies have been piloted in parts of the region with positive outcomes, particularly in enhancing smallholder farmers’ productivity under adverse conditions.
As part of the initiative, training will be delivered to 60 agricultural extension officers alongside 6,000 small-scale farmers. The training focuses on equipping them with knowledge and tools for climate-resilient farming practices and sustainable land management. This capacity-building element is intended to empower communities with long-term skills that are applicable beyond the duration of the programme.
Beyond direct household-level support, the project also involves the formulation of regional drought action plans. These plans are expected to contribute to enhanced national preparedness, improve early response mechanisms and strengthen food security information systems. This multifaceted approach not only aims to address immediate food shortages but also works toward institutional resilience across Namibia’s agricultural framework.
While the 2024 to 2025 rainy season has thus far provided relatively stable rainfall patterns, authorities caution against complacency. Historical data from the Southern African Development Community (SADC) suggests that drought patterns are becoming more erratic and less predictable. As a result, governments in the region have been urged to embed climate risk planning into national development strategies, with a focus on human-centred and context-specific solutions.
Namibia’s approach, particularly in foregrounding women and youth as key participants in the agricultural economy, reflects a broader trend across the continent to restructure food systems in ways that centre equity, local knowledge and sustainability. The country’s initiative builds on a growing body of Pan African strategies that move away from donor-led and extractive interventions, instead championing regionally driven, inclusive solutions that prioritise resilience over dependency.
This project also resonates with wider continental efforts spearheaded by institutions such as the African Union and the African Development Bank, which advocate for integrated climate and food security responses. In particular, the focus on decentralised risk management, agricultural innovation and the promotion of local leadership reinforces the idea that African countries are not merely recipients of global climate aid but are active agents in shaping their developmental trajectories.
As climate-related challenges deepen across southern Africa, Namibia’s initiative offers a model of how national governments can adopt locally embedded, forward-looking agricultural interventions. The success of this project may influence similar initiatives across neighbouring states facing comparable environmental stressors.
In embedding climate-smart technologies within a framework that privileges community resilience, Namibia’s programme contributes meaningfully to the broader discourse on how African nations can humanise their climate responses and rewrite narratives that too often portray the continent through a lens of perpetual vulnerability.
