Analysis Of Grain Production Capability And National Food Security In Namibia—Maize And Pearl Millet

Ensuring food security is the foundation of economic development and social stability. Grains are commonly known to be the source of staple food all over the world with under-developed and developing countries leading in consumption due to their inexpensive nature or readily available as food. More than 50% of world daily caloric intake is derived directly from cereal grain consumption. The overall objective of this study was to analyse national food security and grain production capability in Namibia, focusing on staple food grain supply and demand for over the period of thirty three years. Due to a variety number of grains being produced and consumed in the country, the main focus is on maize and pearl millet. Data were collected from the Namibian Agronomic Board, Namibian statistic Agency, and Ministry of Agriculture in Namibia, World Bank, scientific journals and from Food and Agriculture Organisation of the United Nation Statistical yearbooks for various years.A combination of descriptive statistics has been applied as the method of analysis of the collected data, providing concise summaries about the observations that have been made. The production of maize and pearl millet in Namibia is highly constrained by weather conditions, thus, their output remained low and inconsistent over the years. On average, around 34 000 tonnes of maize, 52 000 tonnes of pearl millet is produced every year, with average yield per hectare of 1.3 metric tonnes for maize and 0.3 metric tonnes for pearl millet. The per capita consumption of maize is averaged at 44 kg per year while millet is averaged at 28 kg per year. The consumption of both maize and pearl millet rose at an average annual rate higher than the production rate, particularly for maize. A logarithm of Cobb-Douglas production function was used to estimate the relationship between the variables and to determine which factors influence the production of maize and pearl millet in Namibia. It was found that land and rainfall were significant and positively related to maize production, and only land was significant and positively related to pearl millet production.To cover deficits between consumption and production, imports become a viable option, especially for maize. The production of maize and pearl millet could be substantially higher with appropriate investments on essential inputs, extension services and infrastructure development. Policy makers should take advantages of the bilateral and multilateral relationship for transfer of information and technology.