Driven by good rainfall, Namibia’s agriculture and forestry sector expanded by 17.8%, becoming a major contributor to the country’s 4.8% second-quarter economic growth.
The sector contributed 0.8% to gross domestic product (GDP) after months of no growth due to good rainfall, leading to recovery in crop production and livestock activity.
The sector expanded by 17.8% in real value added in the three months to June.
This is after a 2.7% decline recorded in the same quarter of 2025, according to the Namibia Statistics Agency’s (NSA) second-quarter GDP report.
The NSA says agriculture and forestry was among the three sectors that made the largest contributions to economic growth during the quarter.
“The wholesale and retail trade, agriculture, forestry and health sectors were the top contributors to the 4.8% GDP growth, respectively contributing 0.9 percentage points, 0.8 percentage points and 0.7 percentage points.”
The agricultural recovery was largely driven by crop production, which grew 28.5% during the quarter as maize and millet output increased following good rainfall, notes the NSA.
The agency says the increase in crop production “emanates from an increase in production of maize and millet which was due to favourable rainfall during the reference period”.
The stronger harvest marked a significant turnaround for a sector that had contracted during the same period last year, when drought conditions weighed on agricultural production.
Livestock activity also recovered, with the subsector recording 7.2% growth compared to a 28.4% contraction in the second quarter of 2025.
Cattle marketed to export abattoirs increased by 4.7%, while live cattle exports went up by 62%, the NSA says.
The agricultural recovery formed part of a broader acceleration in Namibia’s economy during the quarter. Real GDP growth rose to 4.8% from 1.7% in the corresponding quarter of 2025.
In nominal terms, the economy expanded to N$70.6 billion – up N$5.3 billion from N$65.3 billion a year earlier.
The strong quarterly performance means agriculture moved from being a drag on growth in the previous year to one of the largest contributors to Namibia’s economic expansion in the latest period.
