We offer a monthly newsletter dealing with the various issues surrounding infectious diseases.  To find out more click HERE.

ON THE DIFFERENT FARMING SECTORS

IN NAMIBIA

UNIVERSITY CENTRAL CONSULTANCY BUREAU FAO REGIONAL OFFICE FOR AFRICA

UNIVERSITY OF NAMIBIA Extension, Education and Communication

Service (SDRE)

Part 1

Section: 1 2 3 4

DECEMBER 2001

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

UCCB wishes to thank the organisation and person listed below for their co-operation and contribution in making this study successful:

Individual in the various villages household members

Officials of the Regional Governors;

Ministry of Agriculture and Water and Rural Development;

Ministry of Health and Social Services;

Councillors in the various constituencies;

Regional Agricultural Extensions Offices and Technicians;

National Farmers Union; and

Namibia Agricultural Union.

UNAIDS provided the funds through the Food and Agriculture Organisation of the United Nations. Special thanks go the FAO office in Windhoek for their co-operation and support in this project. Dr. Michelle Owens of the FAO Regional office in Accra, Ghana – Extension, Education and Communication Service (SDRE) - is thanked for her technical and administrative support throughout the implementation stages of the project. Last, but not least we would like to thank the University of Namibia for the encouragement to undertake the assignment.

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

This report first provides background to the situation of HIV/AIDS in Namibia. In chapter 2, issues related to the impact of HIV/AIDS on farming, both communal and commercial are reviewed. It begins with the impact of HIV/AIDS on the social structure in the farming communities and is followed by the impacts on labour and income, land ownership and the health and psychological well-being of affected households including school-age children in schools. Findings on the impact of the epidemic on crop and livestock production, community coping mechanisms and strategies for increasing labour productivity are also covered. Chapter 2 concludes with a description of a previous FAO study, in Namibia, on the impact of HIV/AIDS on two farming communities in the north of the country.

Chapter 3 deals with the methodology employed in this specific study. Essentially, the study aimed to obtain a representative sample of the Namibian communal and commercial agricultural sectors and to describe how these have been affected by HIV/AIDS. Regions were selected to capture the following different characteristics of the farming communities: (i) communal versus commercial farming, (ii) livestock versus crop production, and (iii) high versus low HIV/AIDS prevalence. Based on this criterion, the seven regions selected for the survey were Caprivi, Erongo, Karas, Khomas, Omaheke, Omusati and Oshikoto. The survey was carried out in October 2001 with a total of 428 questionnaires were received of which 319 were from communal farmers and 109 from commercial farmers. Cross tabulations, frequencies and Chi-square analyses were then performed on these data.

The results of the study and their implications to the farming communities are reported in chapters 4 and 5. The data revealed that HIV/AIDS deaths are affecting a wide spectrum of communal farmers and, to a lesser extent, commercial farmers. This is especially so in the north of the country and has resulted in a growing number of orphans. It was foreseen that HIV/AIDS would increasingly affect mutual assistance organisations that promote agricultural production and marketing in communal areas as such organisations do not focus on HIV/AIDS education. Similarly, none of the commercial farmers had a clear policy or strategy for dealing with HIV/AIDS on their farms nor with their farm workers. There is, therefore, a definite need to strengthen HIV/AIDS education among commercial farmers, farm workers and some groups of communal farmers, especially in the livestock farming regions of the south. The study further revealed that the youth, aged 15-35 years, are the most affected group in various communities. This age group comprises the active labour force and has the skills for farming which when lost can have direct effects on production.

The level of stigma is still high in these farming communities, and this may hinder the health-seeking behaviours of the affected and infected rural persons. The results have also showed that there has been reduction in labour input on various farm enterprises and operations on communal as well as some commercial farms. The consequences of reduced labour input are reduced area cultivated, increased use of child labour, change in crops grown and less intensive husbandry practices. The sale of livestock to cover medical bills arising out of HIV/AIDS illnesses will, in the long term, result in a decline in the sales of beef by Namibia to South Africa and the European Union.

Traditional practices in some of the regions dictate that once the male head of the household dies from AIDS or HIV related illnesses, the relatives claim the property, at the expense of the wife and children. Systems of mourning take many days and entail considerable expenditure. It is suggested that the period for mourning be reduced to a minimum because it affects labour inputs and production in the farming communities.

Conclusions and recommendations of the study are given in chapter 6. On the whole, it is being recommended to farmer organisations, government, traditional leaders and the community at large to provide HIV/AIDS education and prevention efforts and where possible provide support and counselling to the afflicted farming communities. It was further recommended that communities adopt strategies that minimise the reduction of labour input and optimise co-operative enterprises and practices so as to ensure sustained agricultural production and food security. MWARD should be providing more training and extension materials to their extension agents to educate the farmers of the impact of HIV/AIDS on the farming systems and communities.

Definitions of Terms used in the Report

In this report, unless otherwise specified the following words shall have the meanings:

(i) Commercial Farmer – A farmer who is producing predominantly for the market, and not for home consumption. The land has a freehold title deed which the farmer can use as security against loans from banks. The government, through the Extension Service, normally registers commercial farmers.

       ii.            Communal Farmer – A farmer who produces for home consumption. These are subsistence farmers. The communal farmer has no freehold title for the land. The land belongs to the government, though the communal farmer has the right to use a piece of land through allocation by the traditional local authorities.

3. Children – Young persons whose ages range between 0-18 years (UNICEF).
4. Household - A household can be defined as the unit of production. The members of a household consist of husband, wife, children from the same parents and close members of the extended family. The members of a household live under the same roof and usually eat from the same pot.
5. Farm Workers – Persons in the employment of a commercial farmer. Two categories of farm workers can be identified. Permanent workers are those who have been employed for more than three months. They earn a wage in cash or kind, or both. They are normally housed within the environs of the commercial farm. Permanent farm workers are entitled to certain rations of foodstuffs, which either form part of the wage, in which case part of the wage is deducted, or are a bonus from the farmer. The second category is casual workers who are paid for tasks performed. Because they are often unskilled, they are easily replaced.
6. Youth – Young people whose ages range between 18 and 30. These figures may vary in other countries.
7. Head of Household – A person who is in charge of the members of a household as defined above. The individual may be male or female.
8. Rural Institutions – Institutions established to serve the interests of rural people. These include farmers’ groups such as marketing co-operatives, credit schemes and vegetable production groups.
9. Mutual Assistance Organisations – Organisations established to serve the interests of their members. These could be associations for group cultivation, for instance, where members work together in rotation from one household’s fields to the next.
10. Mourning Period – The period when relatives, friends and the local community observe a period of respect for the deceased during which no activities of an economic nature take place before and after burial. In Namibia the period varies widely in the regions and between various tribal groups.

(xi) Social Institutions – Institutions set up to cater for the social interests of a community or society.

THE IMPACT OF HIV/AIDS ON THE DIFFERENT FARMING SECTORS IN NAMIBIA

I. Introduction

Namibia is a large territory of about 82,4292 square kilometres. It is the most arid country south of the Sahara and has a population of about 1.7 million people. The population is ethnically varied and consists of indigenous Africans, people of European descent and those of mixed race. Five main language groups broadly represent the different racial and ethnic groups in the country. The San peoples, the Nama and the Damara speak Khoisan languages. The Indo-European languages spoken include Afrikaans, English and German. The overwhelming majority speak Bantu languages, and include those speaking Oshiwambo (about 51 percent of the country’s population), Otjiherero, Rukavango, Lozi and Tswana. Most of the people (around 70 percent) live in rural areas in the most heavily populated and poorest northern parts of the country. Namibia was a German colony from 1884 till the First World War when it was occupied by South Africa. South Africa established its system of apartheid and Bantustans that served as reserves for indigenous Africans. In 1966, the year the United Nations terminated South Africa’s mandate to administer Namibia, the South West Africa Peoples Organization (SWAPO), launched an armed struggle for liberation. This struggle escalated with South African intervention in Angola in the 1970s. The first democratic elections in 1989 ended the war, which had mainly affected Oshiwambo speaking areas. SWAPO won these elections and was able to participate in the constituent assembly of 1990. SWAPO won the subsequent elections that were held in 1994 and 1999 by large majorities.

The economy of the country is mainly dependent on the mining of diamonds and uranium. Fishing is also an important sector of the gross domestic product (GDP), while tourism is beginning to make its mark as a significant industry in Namibia. Since the early 1990’s the country’s economy has grown by about 3.5 percent per annum. Its GDP is US$ 2.9 billion and the average per capita income is US$1 600. Thus, Namibia is classified as a middle-income country. Namibia has a highly skewed income distribution, with white, European, ethnic groups dominating business ventures and ownership of assets with economic significance. The European ethnic groups are the most privileged in terms of income, education and health (UNDP, 1999).

Agricultural land in Namibia comprises 69.6 million hectares, and is sub-divided into communal and commercial farmland (Adams and Wolfgang, 1990). About 41 percent of the agricultural land is owned by roughly 4 000 white commercial farmers, compared to about 45 percent occupied by 70 percent of the population living on communally owned land (Fuller, 2001). However, since independence, Namibians have been buying into the commercial farming areas. Men own most land in Namibia.

In Namibia, farm workers are defined as paid employees who perform a variety of tasks on the farm such as those related to crop and animal production (Central Statistics Office - CSO, 1995). There are about 33 000 farm workers in Namibia, accommodating in their households approximately 127 000 people, or roughly 8 percent of the country's population (UNICEF, 1995). Farm workers are among the most vulnerable sectors to the impacts of HIV/AIDS of the Namibian society. The most recent and definitive work on farm workers is the HIES (Household Income and Expenditures Survey) done by the CSO (1995). These surveys found that 90 percent of farm workers are rural dwellers, and most live in the southern and central areas of the country. Only 7 percent of farm workers are women; the rest are men. According to the HIES, 75 percent of farm workers are between 15 and 44 years of age (CSO, 1995). Thus, farm work involves people in the most productive age group. The HIES study found that more than 55 percent of farm workers households in Namibia had a food consumption ratio of 60 percent or more (CSO, 1995). A household is poor if its food consumption, as a proportion of total consumption, exceeds 60 percent (UNICEF, 1995). This ratio is much higher than that of rural Namibia. The per capita income of farm workers is N$1,741, which is far below the country’s average of N$3,073 (UNICEF, 1995). All these indicators confirm that Namibian farm workers live in poverty and are among the most vulnerable people in the country.

HIV/AIDS was first recorded in Namibia in 1986 when four people were diagnosed HIV-positive. The figures increased dramatically to 21 737 in 1996, and to more than 53,000 in 1998 (UNO, 1999). In per-capita terms, Namibia is among the four countries worst affected by HIV/AIDS. There is an overall prevalence rate of 20 percent among sexually active adults (UNAIDS/WHO, 1998). The estimates are that HIV/AIDS has surpassed Malaria and TB combined, as the leading cause of morbidity in the country (UNO, 1999). It is further estimated that in a country of under two million people, about 180 000 people may be living with HIV/AIDS (UNO, 1999). About 86 percent of HIV/AIDS-infected people are between 15 and 44 years old.

In Namibia, an HIV/AIDS Sentinel Survey is conducted anonymously every second year on pregnant women. In the survey, unlinked blood-tested samples are used to determine the prevalence rate of the disease countrywide. The 1998 survey revealed that HIV/AIDS infection among pregnant women had increased when compared to the 1992 survey (MOHSS, 1999). It further showed that women in urban areas are more affected than rural women, as in the data for Oshakati (34 percent) and Opuwo (6 percent). A study by Haoses et al. (1999) showed that many students at the University of Namibia, including females, do not believe that having more than one sexual partner increases the risk of HIV/AIDS, and that 4.4 percent of students did not know that HIV/AIDS infection can be transmitted from mother to child during pregnancy and birth.

Two studies have attempted to project the effect of HIV/AIDS on the Namibian economy. The first is by Arowolo (2001) who projected (a) direct medical costs of care for HIV/AIDS cases for 2001-6, (b) costs of prevention measures, (c) costs of production foregone and (d) costs of providing for orphans. The cost of care for HIV/AIDS patients, as a percentage of the health budget, is project to escalate from 15.8 percent in 2001 to 25.1 percent in 2006.

The study by IIASA (2001) is less pessimistic with regard to the impact of HIV/AIDS on the Namibian economy. It argues that HIV/AIDS could potentially affect the economy by reducing exports, the pool of skilled labour, and investments. IIASA (2001) argues that none of Namibia’s exports are particularly sensitive to reductions in population. Production of Namibia’s main exports of diamonds, fish and animals requires few people and, thus should not be affected by reductions in population. A more detailed description of previous studies conducted is presented in Section II.

The terms of reference of the study were to: (a) Determine characteristics of HIV/AIDS-related vulnerable households and farming systems; (b) Quantify potential short-term impacts at farm, village and national level, including loss of foreign exchange earnings through reduced agricultural exports; (c) Identify coping mechanisms at household, community and commercial level with documentation of mitigating interventions at national and international level; (d) Identify the special needs of changing heads of farm households; and (e) Develop concrete recommendations to ensure that agriculture and rural development projects give appropriate consideration to mitigate the impact of the disease on commercial production and household food security.

II. Background of the Impact of HIV/AIDS on the Farming Sector

The first part of this report provided an introduction to HIV/AIDS in Namibia. In this section, studies and issues specifically related to the farming sector, both communal and commercial, are reviewed. It starts with how HIV/AIDS has affected the social structure in the farming community. This is followed by the impacts of the disease on labour and income, land ownership and on the health and psychological well being of affected households, including school-age children in schools. Findings on the impact of the epidemic on crop and livestock production, community coping mechanisms and strategies for increasing labour productivity are also covered.

1. Family Composition

There are many different types of families, which may include extended, nuclear and single-parent families. In Africa, "the family" is an extensive social network with a diversity of assured contacts. Individuals find strength in relationships in a group much larger than their immediate family and engage in important support functions. Members of the extended family are culturally bonded through ties that facilitate the sharing of resources, goods and services." (Mtika, 2000). "An important feature of Kagera households and, indeed, of most African families, is interdependence in time of need." (World Bank, 2000). It is this family structure that is being altered by HIV/AIDS among many communal farmers in Africa. HIV/AIDS is having a significant adverse effect on household composition (Rugalema, 2000). In particular, HIV/AIDS is transforming regular two-parent families into single-parent families or, in fewer cases, parentless families. This transformation has implications for the existence of families and how they cope with everyday life.

Children in one-parent families are disadvantaged because the family income is likely to be lower than children living with two parents. Widows and children who have lost their husbands and fathers to HIV/AIDS find that they have their land confiscated, as women are presumed not to have rights to land. They also lose property to the man’s family in accordance with customary law, especially if they do not have sons above 15 years to defend them (Topouzis, 1994). Topouzis (1994) also found that in Uganda, families of communal farmers who had died of HIV/AIDS-related illnesses lost access to support services, as it was the dead man who had access to inputs such as credit and extension advice. Children living with single parents are also disadvantaged because family supervision is less than for those children living with two parents. Single parents exert weaker control and make fewer demands on children than two parents. Even the involvement of single mothers in their children’s affairs is much less than that of two-parent families (Marks and Mclanahan, 1993). Single mothers also display lower aspirations for their children in comparison with two-parent families (Marks and Mclanahan 1993). The above processes are promoting family dissolution in many communal areas across HIV/AIDS-ravaged Africa. Households that are destroyed by AIDS are often those where both parents are very ill, or die while their children are still very young (World Bank, 2000).

Death due to HIV/AIDS is also altering household composition in other ways. According to the World Bank (2000), one of the most frequently observed changes is that upon the death of the breadwinner, many families in Sub-Saharan Africa send one or more dependent children to live with relatives. Other families invite unmarried uncles or aunts to join the household in exchange for assistance with farming and household tasks.

Single parenthood due to HIV/AIDS brings with it certain stigma and shame in many communities. People widowed through HIV/AIDS may experience isolation. Topouzis (1994) found that stigma severs access to assistance from the extended family and the community. In a number of cases, the death of a husband is blamed on the alleged promiscuity and immorality of the widow. Many lose the respect of the extended family and are subject to abuse and repression. Wife inheritance, which is the regular traditional mechanism for extending support to widows, is denied such women. There is a fear of inheriting such widows, and they and their children are often abandoned. In other words, the traditional value system is breaking down under the impact of HIV/AIDS. The close bonds associated with the extended family system can no longer be relied upon, as widows are being abandoned while children are hired out too early in their lives to really know about family connections. "Children are providing extra income or free labour and can be treated like property or servants, kept away from school and given inferior food and care." (Lyons, 2000). HIV/AIDS is weakening interpersonal ties. Children orphaned because of HIV/AIDS are running away in numbers from home and from the extended family to escape the stigma and poverty afflicted by the disease. Thus, HIV/AIDS is aiding family dissolution by encouraging migration. This however differs across agro-ecological zones (AEZs) (du Guerny, 1998). For example, in semi-arid zones, where yields can vary considerably, migration can be much more intense than in other zones where rains are more predictable and better distributed. Therefore, one will find linkages between different AEZs and migration, and between less well endowed/poorer zones and better endowed/wealthier ones. The interrelations between such zones can have an impact on the spatial distribution and level of HIV/AIDS infection (du Guerny, 1998).

Traditional support processes are being eroded in terms of care for the elderly, who can no longer expect to be supported by their children. Instead, the elderly are shouldering the burden of caring for children under conditions of increasing personal impoverishment, and with associated living problems for both generations (Cohen, 1998). Multigenerational families without middle generations are becoming increasingly common. The dependency ratio, which is the ratio of people younger than 15 years needing the help and support of others for their own survival, to those aged between 15 and 64 years and considered belonging to the working age, is also increasing. A high dependency ratio implies that children leave school early to help the family. In Tanzania and Uganda dependency ratios have increased in households with adult HIV/AIDS-related deaths from 1:2 to 1:4 (World Bank, 2000).

2. Children, Youth and Women

Forty two percent of the Namibian population is under the age of fifteen. UNAIDS estimates that 5,000 Namibian children were living with HIV/AIDS in 1997. The HIV/AIDS pandemic has a disproportionate impact on children, causing high morbidity and mortality rates among infected children and orphaning many others.

School-age children and youth are kept out of school if they are needed at home to care for sick family members, or to work in the fields or on other income-generating assignments, including prostitution. When children care for a sick adult, they become mature before their time and are deprived of normal childhood activities, which may result in regression in years to come (Jackson et al, 1999). Children drop out of school if their families or sponsors cannot afford school fees, owing to reduced household income as a result of an HIV/AIDS death or incapacitating HIV/AIDS-related illnesses.

A third impact on children and youth is that teenage children are especially susceptible to HIV/AIDS infection. The impact of HIV/AIDS on children and youth, both in ordinary subsistence agricultural communities and commercial agricultural areas, requires a thorough investigation to establish the base line situation beyond preliminary studies already conducted (FAO/MAWRD, 2000) in order to identify appropriate responses.

The number of women living with HIV/AIDS, estimated at 75 000 in 1997, is growing. Women’s social status combined with their greater biological susceptibility to HIV/AIDS put them, and girls, at increased risk of infection. Economic conditions in Namibia which make it difficult for women to access health and social services, compound their vulnerability. That the young are particularly at risk of contracting HIV/AIDS undermines their hopes for education and improvement in their lives. The resulting lower female education will undermine recent gains in health, nutrition, and family planning (World Bank, 2000). The full extent of the HIV/AIDS pandemic in communal and commercial agricultural communities needs to be assessed to reverse this trend.

3. Rural Institutions

In many parts of rural Africa, traditional institutions such as kinship systems, traditional political structures, co-operative production and trading groups and mutual assistance groups are involved in many aspects of rural development and poverty alleviation. Research in Sub-Saharan Africa has shown that traditional institutions are affected by HIV/AIDS in three ways (Topouzis, 1998). In the first place, HIV/AIDS and poverty are highly correlated, and impoverished people are simply too busy scraping a living to care about participating in organizational and voluntary life. HIV/AIDS mortality directly removes the human capital capable of running organizations, and lastly HIV/AIDS disrupts the smooth operation of rural institutions by severing key linkages in the organizational and production chains. Research in Malawi reveals a growing turnover among fishing crews resulting from HIV/AIDS-related deaths (Topouzis, 1998). Such deaths have undermined training efforts. In the past, the extended family was used to foster children and provide care to the elderly. With the advent of HIV/AIDS, it is the elderly that must provide support to the young, thereby subverting the role of this critical institution in traditional African society.

4. Health and Education of Farm Workers

Amanor-Wilks (1997) has pointed out that although health services have been expanding in all African countries, they have largely bypassed farm workers. In Zimbabwe, the health of farm workers is "largely conditioned by their poor living environment, deficient diets, low wages, lack of recreation, and inadequate social security" (Amanor-Wilks, 1997). Loewenstein (1992) reported extensive malnutrition among the children of farm workers in Zimbabwe compared to those of peasants, miners and urbanites; over 50 percent of children below two years of age were underweight. In comparison, about 24 percent of peasant children were underweight (Loewenstein, 1992). Research by Blankenburg (1994) reveals that most farmers employing these people are not aware that the nutrition status of their workers is worse than that of rural people. Many farmers attribute this situation to workers spending too much of their money on alcohol or new clothes, lack of knowledge on the nutritional needs of small children, or large worker families. This situation makes farm workers very susceptible to HIV/AIDS mortality as their immune systems are already compromised by malnutrition.

In Zimbabwe, farmers consider HIV/AIDS, malaria and bilharzia as among the more serious health problems on their farms (Blankenburg, 1994). HIV/AIDS is a particular problem for farm workers. Many of them are seasonal workers who have to migrate from place to place in search of employment. Many male migrants have girlfriends or casual partners away from home. Being away from their regular partners, migrant farm workers are more likely to have multiple partners, to exchange money for sex and to use or abuse alcohol in situations that involve sex. All these are factors that promote HIV/AIDS transmission. A study by Laver et al. (1997) found that farm workers in Zimbabwe lacked knowledge of HIV/AIDS and did not know how to protect themselves against it. In the Zvimba commercial farms, Laver et al. (1997) found that 80 percent of male farm workers believed that they would eventually get a sexually transmitted disease. There was also a general social acceptance of high-risk behaviour, although condom use was more common among the younger and more educated individuals. Since illiteracy is high among farm workers, written messages promoting safe sex did not appear to have an impact. These factors would seem to apply to South African farm workers as well. For example, there has been a pronounced shift from permanent to casual employment on South African farms. This has, according to Callear (2000), increased separation between families. Callear (2000) estimated that farm employment had dropped from 1.4 million in 1994 to 637 000 in 1997. This drop was really a shift to casual employment. Casual workers live far from their families, in overcrowded conditions where women find it difficult to say no to men’s demands (see Paton, 1999), thus creating a breeding ground for HIV/AIDS.

One reason why farm workers are in the kind of employment they are is the low levels of education. According to Le Beau (1993) and CSO (1995), 44 percent of farm workers have no formal education at all, and only about 18 percent had some secondary school attendance (CSO, 1995). Most farm workers do not have access to non-formal education, and consequently cannot improve their education. Lack of education extends to the families of farm workers. Le Beau (1993) found that the children of farm workers are among the most severely and educationally deprived in Namibia. She reported on data showing that 94 percent of farm workers’ children have no/inadequate education, while 47 percent of farm worker households had one or more children of school going age out of school. Thus it would appear that farm workers’ children are inheriting their parents’ education along with the associated disadvantages.

5. Labour, Land Ownership and Inheritance

In production systems such as in the commercial sector of Namibia, labour constitutes the physical inputs into the various operations on the farm. This may be directly on the particular operation, or indirectly through a technical device such as a tractor. The application of labour in any enterprise requires time and energy. Measurements of energy expenditure on farm tasks indicate that after four hours of hard work, most workers would begin to feel weak because of depleted energy in the body (Okai, 1996).

A study by FAO (FAO, 1996) in a number of African countries indicated that a household that has been struck by HIV/AIDS suffers the loss of the labour of the sick. In addition, labour is diverted to the household to look after the sick. This results in the reduction of farm operations and loss of income. Labour intensive farming systems, with low mechanisation and agricultural inputs, are particularly vulnerable as the economic return to labour is very low. After the death of the sick family member, extended periods of mourning have adverse effects on labour availability. This situation is aggravated when deaths are frequent, as is the case now in many rural communities in Africa. The other impacts of the reduction of household labour on farming activities include the following: (a) reduction in land use because of sickness and subsequent death; (b) decline in crop yields because of declines in animal husbandry practices; (c) decline in the number of crops grown because of inadequate labour; (d) limitations of land inheritance because when husband and wife die, the children are distributed to relatives and the land reverts to the community; and (e) as women are left widowed and their right to land is constrained by traditional inheritance customs, their access to land becomes difficult.

Morbidity and mortality among the farming community compromise the efficient use, planning and management of labour on the farm. It makes it difficulty to budget time and other resources, and one cannot set productive targets with certainty, as there is always fear of loss of labour due to ill health (Muchunguzi, 1999). Thus, it can be seen that the impact HIV/AIDS on labour has far reaching consequences on farming systems, crops grown, livestock kept and the levels of nutrition of the communities and therefore their quality of life.

Land in communal areas is still managed by traditional authorities. Therefore, traditions influence decisions concerning land ownership, access and inheritance. For example in some cultures in Namibia women and children cannot inherit land, but can have access to land without owning it (Fuller, 2001). This situation creates opportunity for land and property grabbing by the husband’s family once the male head has passed away. Studies in other countries have also shown that HIV/AIDS-related illnesses increase the chances of children and women losing family land and other assets following the loss of the husband/father (FAO, 1993). When women are left without land and property they are economically and socially vulnerable. Legislation reform is taking place to improve the plight of women and children in both commercial and communal land (Fuller, 2001).

The consequences of the HIV/AIDS epidemic on households and directly on land ownership, access and inheritance of assets are clearly visible in many parts in the world. Studies in Zambia (Anonymous, 1999) and Uganda (Ayieko, 1997) have shown that HIV/AIDS has reinforced problems of women with regard to property and inheritance rights. This is particularly the situation in communities where land tenure and inheritance traditions favour male members of the family and constrain the rights and access of women to land. In such cases, the effects of HIV/AIDS will be severe since an increasing number of women are becoming widowed through death from the disease.

An employee who becomes sick on a commercial farm is usually taken to a health facility in reasonable time by his/her employer, to reduce time losses due to illness. Farmers with large workforces actually arrange health outreach points for their workers, in conjunction with the health authorities. However, when workers are frequently sick, they are usually given unpaid leave to cut down on losses due to ill health. Unfortunately, such a policy reduces the income of the worker with adverse consequences to the household (Rugalema, 1999). When it comes to work force streamlining, workers with HIV/AIDS are the first to be retrenched. This is because caring for an HIV/AIDS infected worker is very costly, and the employer often has to make a choice between making profit and paying high medical bills (Rugalema et al., 1999). On communal farms, the decision to take one to hospital is usually made by the head of the household after exhausting community support systems and considering the implications on scarce family resources.

Because of illnesses due to HIV/AIDS infection, farmers experience a lot of worker absenteeism. Workers are absent because they are away seeking of treatment or have been booked off to recover. A worker may also be caring for a sick family member, or attending the funeral of a family member, colleague or friend. Such absentee workers become a financial burden to their employers. If dismissed or totally non-functional they also become a burden to their families, who now have to care for them.

Morbidity of one worker on a commercial farm impacts on other colleagues who are then requested to take on extra tasks or work extra time. Overtime work puts stress on employees who are now compelled to utilise their free time instead of spending it with their families or relaxing with friends (Rugalema, 1999; Muchunguzi, 1999). Exhaustion due to overwork often leads to decline in the quality and quantity of the final products on the farm. Sometimes, some workers fall sick in the process (Rugalema, 1999).

In cases where workers die due to ill health from HIV/AIDS, farmers incur costs related to the funerals. These costs include contributions towards funeral costs, provision of transport for the remains and the co-workers who go to the funeral, family relocation, paying for the workers who go to the funeral and cash contributions to the family as condolences for their loss (Rugalema et al, 1999). There are also psychological stresses resulting from loss of someone on the farm, which have been known to demoralise surviving workers and negatively affect worker performance.

The impact of HIV/AIDS is worse on families in communal areas. When adults become sick, the children are forced to contribute labour for the survival of the family, and sometimes they are forced to leave school to care for dying parents. In the event of death occurring, orphans may be forced to move in with other members of their extended families for the necessary care. This process of taking on extra mouths into a household is a health risk especially where there is already food insecurity.

Ill health in a family deprives it of certain essentials since all resources are mobilised towards care for the sick. Inadequate food availability and consumption by those caring for their relatives leads to malnutrition and a compromised immune system that lowers the body’s resistance to infection. If the person remains sick for a long time, the family may even sell some of their valuable assets to pay for the treatment and care of their sick family members (Jackson et al., 1999; Iipinge and Kinabo, 2000).

6. Income

Income is payment in exchange for labour for undertaking particular tasks. On the farm, income results from the sale of farm produce, on which labour and other factors of production have been spent. With the advent of the HIV/AIDS pandemic, it is reasonable to assume that farm incomes would be affected because of the loss of the other factors of production such as labour, reduction in the area cultivated and the shift from cash crops to food crops.

In the FAO study (FAO, 1996) it was reported that cash income from farming activities is diverted to the treatment of the sick instead of investing it in farm activities. Similarly, cash income from the sale of cattle and small livestock is used on HIV/AIDS-related expenses. In studies in Kenya (Rugalema et al., 1999) and Zambia (Waller, 1997) the loss of income in households afflicted by HIV/AIDS is linked to increasing poverty in the countryside, which in turn results in further HIV/AIDS infections. This is because the poor often resort to alcohol abuse and prostitution to raise money for survival. These scenarios are not unique to HIV/AIDS, as they have been responsible for the spread of sexually transmitted diseases in the past. The major difference is that HIV/AIDS is a terminator, while the others are curable and allow the victim to return to a normal way of life once the situation changed.

7. Agricultural Production

Perhaps the most obvious impact of HIV/AIDS on agriculture is labour shortage. This is the result of ‘downtime’ when a productive member of the household is sick, and is exacerbated by the high prevalence of HIV/AIDS cases in the most active part of the labour force (30-45 years). Labour shortage results in poor attendance to recommended agronomic practices such as early planting, weeding, fertiliser application and disease and pest control, and timely harvesting. Labour shortage also leads to reduction in cultivated areas as a coping mechanism, with subsequent reduction in crop yields (Ncube, 1999; Munyombwe et al., 1999; Muchunguzi, 1999).

Labour shortages caused by HIV/AIDS have resulted in poor herding of livestock in afflicted households, which has in turn resulted in increased stock theft and deaths from failure to dip cattle. In addition to mortality losses caused by lack of veterinary care and prevention, there are also morbidity losses. In Zimbabwe it was found that tick-borne diseases were on the increase, and this was attributed to failure to dip cattle regularly. Although there are other plausible causes, frequent funerals and the responsibility of looking after cattle falling on the elderly and children who may not be able to walk long distances to dips, may be to blame (Munyombwe et al., 1999).

In a number of households, the income earners - typically men - work in urban areas, and part of their income is spent on agricultural inputs. Sickness and subsequent death of an income earner leads to loss of input supplies to agriculture such as fertiliser, improved seed and pesticides. Lack of required inputs will impact negatively on crop yields. The implication is that families afflicted with HIV/AIDS not only lose labour to support their production, but also the limited financial investment into agriculture, due to reduction and changed priority in spending of family income (Ncube, 1999).

There is increased attrition of livestock numbers in afflicted households due to sale to cover medical and funeral expenses. This negatively impacts the size of the national herd (Munyombwe et al., 1999). Additionally, afflicted families dispose of farm implements and draught animals when resources to cover medical bills and associated bills of hospitalisation are inadequate. In afflicted families the dependency ratio increases because of orphans, and this implies increased expenditure on items such as food, clothing, and education to the detriment of investments in agriculture (Muchunguzi, 1999).

In the Zimbabwe study, it was found that the age group most afflicted by the scourge is that of 30-45 years. The second most afflicted was the 46-54 year age group; this age group provides indigenous technical knowledge that has been passed on from the previous generation through learning by doing. Since some of this indigenous knowledge has not been documented, it implies loss of this information before it can be passed on to the young generation.

Agricultural extension agents and veterinary staff provide technical advice for improved crop and animal productivity. Research institutions provide new technology that addresses problems in the agricultural sector. HIV/AIDS is upsetting this support system directly through chronic illness of affected staff, increased absenteeism because of attendance to their afflicted relatives and friends, and indirectly through time lost attending funerals in their work places to which they are obliged by social norms. In Zimbabwe for instance, it was found that extension staff spent 10 percent of their working time per month attending funerals (Ncube, 1999). In a separate study in Zimbabwe, Munyombwe et al. (1999) estimated that farmers spent 25 percent of their working time attending funerals, and given the labour intensive nature of smallholder agriculture, this negatively impacts on productivity.

When parents die, orphans often have to take care of the livestock. It has been observed that extension personnel and veterinary staff tend to ignore minors when providing advice. Moreover, underage orphans do not have access to credit. All this translates into reduced productivity in afflicted households.

In afflicted families, an increasing trend is a shift towards poultry, pigs and dairy cattle from beef cattle and sheep. This shift reflects an increased interest in species with higher animal products’ turnover to meet nutritional requirements for the sick and simultaneously generate some income. However, some enterprises - like dairy cattle - are labour intensive and may put additional strain on the available labour (Munyombwe et al., 1999).

Labour shortage has been cited as one obvious consequence of HIV/AIDS at the farm level. Afflicted households have devised various coping strategies including reduction in area cultivated, increased use of child labour and a shift away from labour intensive crops and organic farming (Munyombwe et al., 1999; Rugalema, 1999; Ncube , 1999; Page and Davies, 1999). Most of these strategies aim at stemming the food insecurity that arises from labour shortage due to illness and death; however, the crop yields are likely to be much lower than before the emergence of HIV/AIDS.

In livestock production, management strategies that have been suggested to cope with increased work load due to fewer hands on the farm include padlocking, use of hand spraying to control ticks, and use of fodder crops (Ncube, 1999). In crop production, suggested strategies include intercropping, organic farming, use of disease-resistant varieties, use of drought-tolerant varieties, minimum tillage and the development and use of lighter ploughs.

Other community coping strategies suggested to address the reduced labour due to HIV/AIDS include joint operations for food production, for instance land preparation, planting and weeding (Muchopa and Mutangadura, 1999). Through co-operative schemes, farmers can learn from each other and get support from extension more effectively.

8. Previous FAO study in Namibia

The FAO in collaboration with the Ministry of Agriculture, Water and Rural Development (MAWRD) sponsored a study on the impact of HIV/AIDS on farming communities in Namibia in 1999 (FAO, 1999). The study was based on a literature review and field data collection from two communal area farming regions. The Oshana and Caprivi regions were selected for the study because they have high infection rates and were therefore facing the greatest threat from the epidemic.

Two sets of data were collected. The first was by a consultant through unstructured informal interviews with staff in MAWRD, MOHSS, farmers’ organizations, farmers’ groups and individual farm families. Field data collection was by enumerators using structured questionnaires. Enumeration was carried out by Agricultural Extension Technicians (AET) previously trained in the aspects of enumeration. Areas for enumeration were identified as Farmer Extension Development (FED) groups. Each FED group was made up of between one and three Headman areas.

Two questionnaires were administered. The first sought general information on the FED group such as death records, mourning culture, cost-covering strategies, knowledge about HIV/AIDS and community-based help for sick and bereaved families. This questionnaire was completed during a group interview with members of the fed group. The second interview was household specific and targeted households identified to have been affected by death or sickness during the group interview. It intended to obtain data on the situation before and after the HIV/AIDS outcome with respect to household sizes and primary income sources, total cropped areas, crops grown and yields, crop management and livestock ownership and management. This questionnaire also solicited information on how the HIV/AIDS costs were covered, the nature of help from neighbours and relatives and household coping strategies. All household members present were interviewed together, while the household head was the primary respondent. The duration of the study was not indicated. Twelve FED groups in each region participated in the study and a total of 18 and 4 affected households were interviewed in Oshana and Caprivi respectively.

III. Methodology of the Study

Two sets of tools were developed in this study. The first consisted of two questionnaires, one for the communal farming sector and the other for the commercial farming sector, and these were administered to households. It was assumed that a commercial farmer or manager would have the most information concerning his workers and, therefore, only a short checklist was used for his/her farm workers as a supplement. Copies of the questionnaires and checklists are available upon request from FAO. The second tool comprised of focus group discussions, which were meant to complement information obtained from household interviews. These group discussions were guided by a list of questions addressing the main issues of the survey. Composition of the focus group discussions varied from one region to another but included staff from NGOs and MOHSS, community leaders, extension personnel, women and the youth. At least 3 group discussions were held in each region surveyed.

After development of the questionnaires, pre-testing was done in the field on both communal and commercial farmers to check on clarity, consistency, correct understanding and translation of the questions and duration of the interview. Debriefing sessions were held after each interview to discuss problems encountered, and improvements were made to the questionnaires. The questionnaires were in English and the enumerators were required to translate the individual questions into the local language for the interviewee.

1. Sampling Procedure

In this study, the objective was to obtain a sample that was representative of the Namibian communal and commercial agricultural sectors and to describe how these have been affected by HIV/AIDS. Regions were therefore selected to capture the following main characteristics: (i) communal versus commercial farming; (ii) livestock versus crop production, and (iii) high versus low HIV/AIDS prevalence. The seven regions selected for the survey were Caprivi, Erongo, Karas, Khomas, Omaheke, Omusati and Oshikoto.

In all regions except Caprivi and Omusati, where there were no registered commercial farmers, 40 questionnaires were administered to communal farmers while 25 were administered to commercial farmers. In Caprivi and Omusati only questionnaires for the communal farming sector were administered. At the end of the study, a total of 428 usable questionnaires were received, of which 319 were from communal farmers and 109 from commercial farmers.

Stratified sampling was done within each of the seven regions. In the communal farming areas, 3 constituencies were selected with the primary guideline that two of them had to have high, and one, low HIV/AIDS prevalence. The selection of these constituencies was based on information from the office of the regional HIV/AIDS co-ordinator. A secondary guideline was to have as much variation as possible based on the nature of the farming enterprise (e.g. crops versus livestock; small stock versus cattle). Within each constituency, four villages were randomly sampled. In each village up to six questionnaires were administered to randomly selected households. Respondents were mature adults: usually the head of the household, though other members participated.

Supervisors made logistical arrangements for surveys within each region through the Agricultural Extension Office. At the constituent level, arrangements were made through the Office of the local Councillor. Lists of villages, their headmen and number of households were obtained from Councillors’ offices. The headmen of the villages selected were first briefed, and then consent sought before interviews of households

Discussions were held with the Namibia Agricultural Union on the objectives of the study and a letter of introduction to commercial farmers was obtained. Commercial farmers were contacted through regional extension officers, and those who consented were interviewed. In Omaheke region, farm workers on some commercial farms were not interviewed as the managers were in town and, consequently, only information from the managers could be obtained.

2. Data Collection

Five enumerators with reasonable competence in both English and the main local languages (Oshiwambo, Lozi, Damara/Nama, Afrikaans and Otjiherero) were recruited from each of the seven regions through the regional Agricultural Extension Offices. Competent supervisors who had participated in previous surveys were obtained from UNAM. The enumerators and supervisors were trained in a three-day workshop that addressed the sampling procedure, community entry process, interview techniques, interpretation and comprehension of questions, recording of responses, group discussions and other logistics.

The survey was carried out between the 18^th and 30^th of October 2001. At the end of each day a supervisor met with the group to discuss problems encountered in the field, check the questionnaires for accuracy and consistency, and plan for the following day. The team of consultants was also in the field at the same time, to oversee the progress of the interview process and to provide clarification on pertinent issues. A debriefing of the survey process was carried out by the team of consultants at the end of the data collection.

3. Data Analysis

Questionnaires were checked by the team of consultants for obvious errors such as omissions of constituencies, questions not applicable but answered, and returned to the supervisors for rectification when necessary. Trained clerical assistants coded and entered the data in Microsoft Excel. Cross-tabulations, frequencies and Chi-square analyses were then performed on the data. Significance in Chi-square analyses were at the a = 0.05 level. Because of no or few responses, some categories in questions with the Chi-square performed had to be merged. Some of the questions involved ranking of responses and weighted averages were used. For focus group discussions, qualitative responses were summarised for each region.

Section: 1 2 3 4