Posted July 1996
Cameroun | Egypt | Iran | Maroc | Namibia | Philippines | El Salvador | Tanzania
Population: 1.5 million
Growth rate: 3.1%
Fertility rate: 6.0
IMR: 70/1,000 births
GNP/head: US$1,610
Source: "World Bank Atlas", 1994
Nearly 80% of the population of Namibia is engaged in agriculture. In 1989, commercial agriculture, primarily exports of beef and cattle, contributed 10.8% of the GDP and employed 34.1% of the labour force. Of a total land area of 82.3 million hectares, 69.3 million (84%) are suitable for agriculture. The commercial farming sector consists of 44% of the agriculturally useable land. The communal farming sector consists of 41% of the agricultural land and accommodates approximately 64% of the population - of which an estimated 90% are dependent on subsistence agriculture for a living. Livestock constitutes the major source of livelihood. The main crops are maize, millet and wheat. The achievement of national food self-sufficiency is a major economic strategy of the country.
Women account for 59% of all those engaged in skilled and subsistence agricultural work, according to the 1991 census. This work employs over 70% of rural women classified as employed. While the 1991 census takes account of subsistence agriculture for the first time, it does not capture the full involvement of women in the work force as it overlooks the participation of many "homemakers" (22.4% of the women who are classified as not economically active) in agriculture and other productive activities.
A comparison of the employment status of the economically active population in rural areas shows that many more women than men are own account or unpaid family workers.
Women carry out the bulk of domestic and agricultural work. Both women and men participate in land preparation, ploughing, planting, weeding, harvesting and threshing. Men are primarily responsible for herding and marketing livestock, while women are responsible for food processing, and for collecting water and wood for domestic use, the principal source of fuel for the majority of rural households.
Overall, women have an unequal say in decision-making, although women's freedom to make decisions varies by type of household and region. In female-headed households, women are more likely to make decisions jointly with other household members. In male-headed households, men are more likely to make decisions, although joint decision-making is commonplace.
Since women are primarily small-holders engaged in subsistence agriculture, few are represented in commercially-oriented farmers associations such as the Namibia Agricultural Union (NAU). Women comprise 30 to 60% of the affiliate associations of the Namibia National Farmers Union (NNFU), established in 1992 for communal farmers whose activities, however, focus mainly on marketing and surplus production rather than on improved food production and food processing for women farmers.
The Department of Women Affairs (DWA) was established in 1990 in the Office of the President with the mandate to: facilitate the inclusion of gender issues into national development, advocate for policies and legislation which are gender-sensitive, coordinate the gender-related activities of government ministries, and provide a point of contact between government, NGOs and donors promoting gender issues. It has been successful in including gender sector by sector in the National Development Plan for 1995-2000, rather than as a separate section on Women in Development. The Department is constrained, however, by a small budget and staff, lack of representative or observer status in the Cabinet, and an insufficient capacity to fully address the priorities of rural women in development policy and planning.
At present, there are no focal points in the Ministry of Agriculture or other technical ministries for promoting gender concerns, yet plans exist to facilitate an interministerial network on gender issues, composed of individuals from the line ministries.
Recognizing that women's interests are not often addressed in many rural organizations, some NGOs are encouraging women to form separate associations and co-operatives. A number of church-related organizations, in which women are very active, run development projects for rural women.
Namibia is a signatory to the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW). The Constitution of Namibia guarantees equal rights for women and provides for affirmative action to redress past imbalances. However, the Constitution also states that all laws in force at independence remain in force until repealed or amended by Parliament, and that customary and common laws also remain valid, as long as they do not conflict with the Constitution or statutory laws. Thus many discriminatory laws that affect rural women remain intact, including those that limit women's control over property and access to land and credit.
Male migration has created many female-headed households with a shortage of adult labour, often resulting in a decline of food productivity and ability to earn cash income. Female-headed households, which account for 42.9% of rural households, also support more dependents and thus are particularly affected by malnutrition. Rising unemployment has shrunk remittances and cash income. The natural resource base is declining due to drought, erosion, deforestation, and increasing population pressure. Subsistence farmers engage in unsustainable farming practices in the absence of alternatives. Even in good years, agricultural production is inadequate to meet basic food needs.
The majority of black farmers reside in Communal areas in which traditional authorities grant usufruct rights to households for crop production, grazing and access to common pasturage. Rural women gain indirect access through men as wives, daughters and sisters. The security of their tenure is jeopardized by discriminatory marriage customs and inheritance systems.
On average, female-headed households own fewer livestock and are more likely to own no cattle at all, and thus have less access to what livestock provide: food, income from the sale of animals, meat and by-products, dung for fertilizer, draught power, and social and cultural status.
Data collection needed.
Data collection needed.
Small-scale farmers have historically been unable to gain access to credit through banks and government institutions which require titled land as security. Since independence, new governmental and NGO credit programmes are providing new sources of credit which are more available to small-holders. Gender-disaggregated data is required to assess their accessibility and impact. Since 1992, the Ministry of Agriculture, Water and Rural Development has provided loans to 450 small-scale communal farmers. Most of these have been for livestock, which is usually purchased by men. A credit union movement is growing of which women comprise 70-80% of the membership in the Southern Communal Areas and Owambo region. A serious legal constraint is that married women require the consent of their husbands to enter into contracts and loans.
Historically, agricultural extension and services have served the interests and needs of commercial farmers. Although steps have been taken to reorient support towards subsistence farmers, few programmes as yet take account of the activities and priorities of women farmers. There are far fewer women extensionists than men, and women comprise a smaller percentage of the enrolment of agricultural colleges.
The Co-operative Act provides that cooperatives in which more than one-third of the total members are women must have at least one woman on each Management Committee and Subcommittee.
NGOs such as the Rural People's Institute for Social Empowerment (RISE) and the Namibia Credit Union League, are supporting local groups to manage and administer group savings and credit programmes. Many of the credit unions have helped women to mobilize and invest their savings.
Discriminatory laws must be repealed/amended to ensure that women have equal access to credit and rights to land. For this, greater support should be given to the Women and Law Reform Committee.
 
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