3 November 2008
Windhoek — A conference on 'Post-Resettlement' starts in Windhoek tomorrow (November 4).
The conference will reflect on the needs of emerging farmers, take stock of post-settlement support in Namibia, identify gaps and reach consensus on the way forward.
The Joint Presidency Committee (JPC) of the Namibia Agricultural Union (NAU) and Namibia National Farmers' Union (NNFU), in cooperation with the Ministry of Agriculture, Water and Forestry (MAWF), Ministry of Lands and Resettlement (MLR) and the Agricultural Bank of Namibia (Agribank), is hosting the post-resettlement conference.
The conference is being funded by the German Development Cooperation (GTZ) and organised by the Namibia Institute for Democracy (NID).
The Government wants to redistribute at least 15 million hectares of commercial farmland from previously advantaged white farmers to previously disadvantaged black farmers by 2020.
The NAU newsletter says resettled farmers still find it difficult to make the transition from communal-tenure areas to managing land in the freehold tenure areas because it involves an abrupt change in terms of the farm business environment and farm management practices.
"New emerging farmers are expected to operate their farms as profitable businesses," says the newsletter.
Considering constraints such as insufficient start-up capital and breeding stock, inadequate access to operating credit, not enough farm equipment, poorly maintained farm infrastructure, and insufficient access to information and knowledge, as well as natural risks such as drought and disease, the challenge remains big.
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