Namibia’s ongoing land reform process, aimed at addressing historical inequalities in land ownership, lacks comprehensive data on the outcomes and outputs of the resettlement farms, a think tank has said.
In its recently released Namibia Quarterly Economic Review for the second quarter of 2023, the Institute for Public Policy Research (IPPR) has highlighted the gaps in the land reform process.
IPPR Research Associate and Economist, Robin Sherbourne, said the existing land reform statistics primarily focus on inputs such as the cost and size of the farms purchased, while completely ignoring crucial information on how resettled farmers are faring and the incomes they generate.
The review points out that the average cost of land purchase through the National Resettlement Programme (NRP) amounts to N$436,460 per beneficiary.
“This figure does not account for additional costs such as administration expenses, support provided to resettled farmers, and the significant supplement of land tax. No detailed examination of these costs has been conducted. The IPPR suggests that if this amount were given directly to beneficiaries and invested in the bank at a 10% interest rate, it could yield an average yearly income of over N$40,000. However, without concrete data on the actual incomes generated by resettled farmers, it remains unknown if they are surpassing this benchmark,” Sherbourne said in the review.
The review also highlights the lack of comprehensive data on loans extended through the Affirmative Action Loan Scheme (AALS) since its inception in 1992.
“While some loan data is available, the absence of information for the year 2017 raises questions. The number of loans extended has fluctuated over the years, with a peak in 2003 followed by a significant decline after a moratorium on new loans and subsequent investigation revealed problems with the Scheme and high default rates,” the IPPR said.
“Since the resumption of lending in 2004, the number of loans granted annually has remained in single figures, indicating a decline in land transfers. This may be attributed to the limited number of potential farmers willing to take on debt for commercial farming and increased caution from Agribank in extending loans.”
The latest available figures indicate that 562 loans worth N$726.6 million have been granted, covering 3,106,570 hectares of land with this representing a decrease compared to the previous year’s data, where 649 loans worth N$784.3 million were granted for 3,411,368 hectares of land.
IPPR says that the lack of explanation for this discrepancy further underscores the need for improved data collection and reporting.
As a result, the IPPR’s analysis of Namibia’s commercial land reform process reveals poor, uneven, and inconsistent data quality.
“Different publications contain varying numbers without clarifying the reasons behind these discrepancies. Additionally, there is a lack of information on private commercial land purchases by previously disadvantaged Namibians or foreigners,” said Sherbourne.
Meanwhile, the review estimates that approximately 23% of commercial farmland now belongs to previously disadvantaged Namibians based on available data from the AALS, NRP, waivers, private purchases, and government-owned and foreign-owned commercial farmland.
However, the lack of comprehensive data makes it difficult to determine the precise magnitude of land ownership changes.
