Sostenus Wilherm
Namibia remains heavily dependent on food imports, with more than half of the country’s requirements for key staple crops and most fruit consumed domestically sourced from outside the country, highlighting the gap between local production and the nation’s food security ambitions.
During the 2025/26 season, approximately 64% of Namibia’s maize requirements, 87% of wheat and 64% of pearl millet requirements were imported, minister of agriculture, fisheries, water and land reform Inge Zaamwani said.
The figures were contained in her keynote address delivered by agricultural deputy minister Ruthy Masake at the 2026 National Agronomy and Horticulture Awards (NAHA) in Gobabis on Thursday.
The situation is even more pronounced in horticulture, where approximately 46% of vegetables and 96% of fruit consumed domestically were imported during the period.
Potatoes, described by Zaamwani as Namibia’s largest horticultural product by consumption, also remain heavily dependent on imports.
“These figures demonstrate vulnerability, but they also reveal a substantial domestic market opportunity,” Zaamwani said.
She said increasing domestic production should therefore be viewed not only as a food security priority but also as an economic imperative.
“Every product we can competitively produce locally represents an opportunity for investment, employment, value addition and income retained within our economy,” she said.
The minister said Namibia’s dependence on imports exposes the country to external pressures while limiting opportunities to retain more agricultural income within the domestic economy.
“Food security is therefore not only about food availability. It is about productive capacity, resilient supply chains, reduced foreign-exchange exposure, industrial development and, ultimately, economic sovereignty,” Zaamwani said.
The government is seeking to address the gap through the Sixth National Development Plan (NDP6), which places agriculture at the centre of efforts to transform the economy.
According to Zaamwani, the plan seeks to increase domestic food production, reduce dependence on food imports, expand domestic horticultural production and increase the contribution of crop value chains to the economy.
The government also intends to expand strategic crop exports, develop domestic capacity for agricultural inputs, increase agro-processing and expand productive land under commercial and large-scale crop production.
Zaamwani said Namibia must move away from its current dependence on imported food towards greater domestic productive capacity.
“For agriculture, this means moving from import dependence towards productive self-reliance; from primary production towards value addition; from fragmented interventions towards integrated value chains; and from vulnerability towards resilience,” she said.
However, Namibia’s ability to increase crop production remains constrained by its harsh climatic conditions.
The country is among the driest in Africa, with farmers facing erratic rainfall, recurring droughts, water scarcity, rising production costs, pest pressures and the increasing effects of climate change.
Despite these challenges, Zaamwani said local producers continue to invest and adapt, demonstrating the potential of agriculture to contribute to national development.
She said government policy is increasingly focused on expanding irrigation, improving productivity, promoting climate-smart agriculture, strengthening research and innovation, improving market access and developing processing capacity.
She also stressed the importance of involving young people and women in agriculture, arguing that farming should be viewed as a business and profession rather than merely a subsistence activity.
“The future of agriculture will increasingly be shaped by technology, research, innovation, logistics, processing and modern agribusiness,” she said.
The NAHA awards, held under the theme “Enhancing Resilience in Agriculture through Crop Farming,” recognised producers and other stakeholders contributing to Namibia’s crop production sector.
Zaamwani said the awards should go beyond recognising individual achievements and instead promote best practices, productivity, quality, food safety, environmental stewardship and sound business management.
She said the government would continue working with the Namibian Agronomic Board and other stakeholders to increase production and strengthen agricultural value chains.
“Our collective efforts must translate into measurable outcomes: more land under productive cultivation, higher yields, reduced losses, greater value addition, stronger local procurement systems and improved incomes for producers,” she said.
Zaamwani said achieving food self-security would require sustained investment, innovation, discipline and partnerships, adding that the goal was fundamental to national development, economic stability and human dignity.
