During the period of South African rule, organized forestry was virtually neglected in Namibia (Erkilla and Siistonen, 1992). In 1990, when the country became independent, the current Directorate of Forestry was established under the then Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries, Water and Rural Development. No comprehensive training needs assessment was carried out before or immediately after independence. Kojwang (1994) indicated that among the major forestry sector problems to be addressed through the formulation of appropriate and implementable policies was the limited institutional capacity due to a shortage of competent Namibian forestry staff.
The implementation of the forest policy and the strategic plan largely depends on the availability of technically competent personnel as well as sufficient funds. Although there has been a general improvement in the forestry workforce, it is by no means sustainable, as most of the new staff are foreigners. Special attention will therefore be given to the identification of qualified Namibians for training at the technical and professional level and to providing additional in-service training for existing personnel.
The first training needs assessment in Agriculture and Forestry Training was initiated and carried out by MAWRD in 1998. It was intended to form the basis for planning future agriculture and forestry formal training in Namibia through the agricultural colleges and the university. The survey indicated the shortage of national forestry staff and as a result expatriates filled most of the posts
The following recommendations were made (forestry and agriculture programmes):
1. The number of graduates trained at the colleges/NUCA should accord with the employment opportunities. This means an annual intake of:
2. The lecturers of the colleges/NUCA should attend training courses in teaching methods to improve their skills.
3. Field attachments should be incorporated in Agriculture and Forestry Diploma courses.
4. The agriculture curriculum should train a generalist.
5. There should be much greater focus on community forestry management in the forestry curriculum.
6. Innovative practical courses should be developed to strengthen ties among the colleges/NUCA and farming communities to enable students to develop confidence in practical skills such as facilitation, training, etc.
7. Subjects with little relevance to the future work of the majority of graduates should be dropped and replaced.
8. The Diploma Course in Forestry at OAC is run concurrently, with intakes occurring every year for three consecutive years, rather than every third year. The shortage of forestry staff in the Directorate of Forestry could thus be minimized in a short period.
9. The Forestry Degree Course that was planned to start in 1999 should be abandoned and replaced with a one-year honours course in forestry for B.Sc. graduates in biology and geography.
10. The colleges/NUCA should have a budget that is managed by the principal/bursar with accounts subject to audit. Where possible, the farm should be run commercially. Earnings should be reinvested in the colleges/NUCA to fund consumables and a variety of small enterprises so that students gain experience in business principles.
11. The colleges/NUCA should develop formal linkages with farmers, research and extension services.
12. Lecturers should be involved in conducting research activities and providing short courses to extension staff, farmers, etc. With an average five hours of teaching per week, this would be easily achieved.
13. The Faculty of Agriculture and Natural Resources should develop their existing departments further rather than plan additional departments.
14. Alternative solutions should be investigated to reduce the high capital expenditure at the faculty.
15. The rural development centres and training centres, including Mashare, should be managed by the private sector or NGOs
16. Mashare Agricultural Development Institute should start a six-month certificate course for school leavers.
17. An in-depth study should be conducted by an independent consultant to compare the roles and curriculum of the polytechnic and the colleges.
18. The merits of distance education should be explored, especially concerning M.Sc. degrees.
19. A policy of active recruitment of female staff at all levels should be encouraged at the colleges/NUCA. Furthermore, the intake of students should be on an equal gender basis.
20. The private sector should be encouraged to play a major role in providing practical training for students. The government should identify those who contribute.
21. It should be expected that the Ministry of Fisheries and Marine Resources and the Ministry of Environment and Tourism would also provide funds for the Faculty of Agriculture and Natural Resources.
A comprehensive study on Manpower and Needs Assessment in the Namibian Forestry Sector was carried out in 1999 by the Directorate of Forestry, Namibia/Finland Forestry Programme. The study was the outcome of a strong recommendation made by the Mid-term Review (1999).
The recommendation was that a comprehensive data needs assessment should be carried out covering the forest-related data needs of the entire Ministry of Environment and Tourism as well as the most important governmental and non-governmental organizations.
The study was aimed at addressing the main institutional weakness of the forestry sector and the Directorate of Forestry; namely:
The study arose from the need to strengthen the institutional capacity of the forestry sector in general and the Directorate of Forestry in particular, to implement the new National Forest Development Policy efficiently as well as the recently formulated Namibia Forestry Strategic Plan and Strategic Objectives. According to the study, the National Forest Policy outlines four basic aims arising directly from the government's commitment to reduce poverty:
The Forest Development Policy has been translated by the 1966 Namibia Forestry Strategic Plan as follows:
The study defined an occupational profile for all occupational classes. Examples are the profile for the Forest Technicians and Forest Rangers (Annex 1). A major challenge now is to link the strategic objectives and milestones with field operational activities. This suggests special training for each occupational class to fill the gap between the existing and the required competence.
In terms of gender considerations, women will constitute the greater number of professional staff by the year 2004. Furthermore, the future workforce projections suggest that top management posts are likely to be occupied by women. It is also significant to note that in the Forestry Programme at Ogongo Agricultural College women constitute 45 percent of the total number of forestry students. The study indicated that out of 142 established posts, 96 are currently filled. The severe shortage is in posts for professionals and technicians (Table 1).
Table 1: Present forestry management establishment by occupational classes and gender in DoF, including non-Namibians
Occupational class |
Establishment |
Filled | ||
Male |
Female |
Total | ||
Professionals |
30 |
8 |
4 |
12 |
Technicians |
26 |
12 |
6 |
18 |
Rangers |
45 |
26 |
13 |
39 |
Guards |
41 |
13 |
14 |
27 |
Total |
142 |
59 |
37 |
96 |
| (Source: Mubita, 1999) |
Based on the scenarios expressed by the forest management, the study proposed an addition of 66 posts to the current establishment (Table 2).
Table 2: Comparison between the current establishment and proposed requirements
Occupational class |
Current establishment |
Proposed establishment |
Additional requirements |
Professionals |
30 |
41 |
11 |
Technicians |
26 |
44 |
18 |
Rangers |
45 |
67 |
22 |
Guards |
41 |
56 |
15 |
Total |
142 |
208 |
66 |
| (Source: Mubita, 1999) |
The study also proposed an increase in the number of forestry teaching staff at Ogongo Agricultural College to carry out its training programme in accordance with market requirements.
The training needs assessment study recommendations are as follows:
The Forestry Programme at Ogongo Agricultural College conducted a qualitative training needs assessment during the 1997 academic year. The target group was employers and former students. The survey covered all the employers and 90 percent of the former students using two different questionnaires (Annex 2). The outcome of the survey was:
