Agriculture in Namibia contributes around 5% of the national Gross Domestic Product (GDP). Around 25% to 40% of the country’s population depends on subsistence agriculture and herding. The primary products of Namibia include livestock and meat, crop farming and forestry. They receive rain on a small percentage of their land which makes it difficult to plant crops. As most inland rivers are ephemeral, it is only possible to irrigate in the valleys of the border rivers Oranje, Kunene and Okavango. Hardap Irrigation Scheme is also another place to farm crops.

The Structure of the Namibian Agricultural Sector

Agriculture is an important sector of the country’s GDP and many in the country depend on it for their livelihood.

Namibia exported roughly $1.2 billion worth of agricultural products in 2017. The country has very strict regulations regarding the use of animals, leading to its large production of livestock and crops that are sold internationally.

In the white-dominated commercial sector, agriculture consists primarily of livestock ranching. There are about 4,000 commercial farms in Namibia and 3,000 of which are owned by whites.

The breeds of livestock grown in the southern region are primarily sheep and goat farming while Cattle raising is more predominant in the central and northern regions.