Most Namibian families can not own land!
Sixty-four percent or two out of three Namibian families can not own the land on which they live. The figure of 64% is based on data collected during the 2016 Inter-Censal Demographic Survey and 2011 Population & Housing Census. Thirty-eight percent of these families live in communal areas where the law forbids the ownership of […]
Crop farming on communal land: maximising production or minimising risk?
A fascinating thing about most livestock in communal areas is that they are not used for production, contrary to what western society expects (see the essay published in this column on 13 June). What about crops? What rules do crop farmers follow in communal areas? Agronomists generally assume that farmers seek to maximise production, which […]
The Business of Land Grabbing
Namibia has been complaining about land grabbing and illegal fencing ever since independence 28 years ago. There has been lots of talking, but nothing really has been done to solve the problem. This is not surprising because those who grabbed and fenced are mainly Namibia’s elites, a point made clear by Theodor Muduva in his […]
Economic Progress Since Independence – Klaus Schade
Namibia’s population is young. In 2011, 45 percent of the population was 18 years of age or younger and even 63 percent 27 years or younger. Hence, almost two out of three Namibians have hardly any memory of the country at the time of Independence. Therefore, our 27th Anniversary of Independence provides an opportunity to […]