Increasing the climate-resilience and reducing the food insecurity of subsistence farmers in Namibia.

Namibia’s northern small-scale subsistence farming communities are vulnerable to climate-related challenges as incidents of drought and high temperatures increase. The communities in Zambezi, Kavango East and West are dependent on primary production and natural resources, rely on rain-fed (dry land crop production) agriculture, and have limited livelihood options and employment opportunities. These communities experience high levels of poverty, and climate change is expected to lead to reduced crop yields, loss of ecosystems services (such as water purification and biomass energy) and ecosystem degradation.

CRAVE will reduce food insecurity by allowing beneficiaries to acquire abilities to adopt conservation agriculture and climate-resilient agricultural practices to produce food, as well as providing them with access to renewable energy.

The project will scale up the adoption of adaptive measures such as conservation agriculture and micro drip irrigation. A centre of excellence, the Mashare Climate Resilient Agriculture Centre of Excellence (MCRACE) will also be established, which will carry out demonstration pilots including a fertilizer mixing plant, organic manure and guano trials. Farmers will be provided with sustainable access to off-grid solar energy technologies including water pumping for small-scale micro horticultural systems, and refrigeration for harvested food, reducing the dependency on imported fuels.

The project has an estimated lifespan of 5 years.