The MAWF’s white elephants: only the tip of the iceberg

AN urban legend from central Africa tells of a massive snow-plough that can be found slowly rusting away somewhere in the steamy equatorial jungle. Apparently, after the Belgians abandoned the Congo in 1960, the Soviets – eager to assist Lumumba’s new regime – sent conspicuous gifts with high propaganda value.

Amongst these was state-of-the-art road construction equipment. This included a machine essential for building superhighways in the Soviet Union: a gigantic snowplough. If rumours are correct, Namibia too can now boast its very own herd of white elephants: several 78 KW tractors (so enormous, they cannot work effectively on small farms), disc harrows and ploughs (thoroughly incompatible with sustainable agriculture in Africa); all imported from Brazil by our Ministry of Agriculture Water and Forestry (MAWF) which, together with other inappropriate, non-tendered, equipment purchased for the full mechanisation of government’s Green Schemes and dry-land cropping programmes, is whispered to have cost the taxpayer more than N$ 320 million. Admittedly, not quite as silly as a snowplough in the tropics, but hideously more expensive and potentially far more destructive. Our government’s agricultural exploits have become alarming, or – as one expert in the field of sustainable agriculture has reiterated – irresponsible to the extreme. It seems as if no effort is made to build upon Namibians’ extensive traditional farming knowledge (so well adapted to our harsh environmental conditions), to learn from past mistakes linked to highly mechanised agriculture (the 1930s USA dustbowl being the most instructive example) or, indeed, to implement the many excellent policies and Laws that our Government has promulgated since independence regarding sustainable and responsible land-use.Sadly, the importation of environmentally damaging agricultural equipment is only the tip of the iceberg. MAWF extension officers apparently make no effort to encourage farmers to conserve forests when preparing the land for tillage or to guide them on the most sustainable and productive methods of farming. Large trees – even if they play a vital role in biodiversity maintenance and soil enrichment (through nitrogen fixation and organic replenishment) – are being burnt and cleared at terrifying rates together with all other vegetation. Endless permits are dished out for wood harvesting without any noticeable indigenous reforestation efforts. Water wastage abounds: methods of tillage promoted by the MAWF enhance crop water loss through evapotranspiration. Even when correct techniques are employed by government officials (using ripper-furrowing which conserves both soil and water), tractor drivers are not adequately trained and end up doing much more harm than good. No comprehensive environmental impact assessments (EIAs) are conducted for big projects like the Green Schemes. If they were, it is very unlikely that they would be permitted.The list of carelessness goes on and on but the bottom line is this: conservation agriculture NGO’s have developed Namibia specific crop production methods that are environmentally friendly and proven to increase yields by up to 500 per cent: but the MAWF is simply not promoting it.Namibia’s Agricultural Policy refers quite correctly to past colonial neglect through poor resource management and inadequate land-use policies. It states that Government will address the serious problems of desertification and environmental degradation caused by the destruction of forests and soil erosion through the implementation of sound environmental policies. Evidently, the MAWF is practicing the exact opposite. If the MAWF continues on its misguided path it will be directly responsible for threatening the food security of the majority of rural Namibians. It will deny them access to adequate income, and decent, rewarding work from the land. It will increase our need to import expensive and polluting agro-chemicals, threaten water security, reduce biodiversity and increase our vulnerability to the environmental shocks associated with climate change. In effect it will be directly responsible for pushing our nation below what this years Rio + 20 Earth Summit calls the ‘Social Justice Line.’ How shameful is that?jtarr@iway.na