Climate smart agricultural vocational training

Responding to the need for environmentally friendly and climate-smart solutions to mitigate and adapt to climate change in Namibia, the project aims to improve the quality and access to climate-smart agricultural vocational education for 60 disadvantaged youths. The students from impoverished backgrounds will complete the government accredited course in Conservation Agriculture and Irrigation at the DAPP Vocational Training School (DAPP VTS) in Onambelela, Omusati Region. The DAPP VTS will establish a demonstration plot, focusing on mitigation and adaptation techniques to evolving climate change effects, and an irrigation and water management lab. The students will attend theoretical (30%) and practical (70%) lessons including internships and apprenticeships and learning experiences in industry specific training centers.

DAPP Namibia, is a locally registered NGO, founded in 1990 in Namibia. It aims to empower communities to drive self-sustaining changes, addressing the root causes of poverty, discrimination and vulnerability.


Testimonials

Type

Education / Environment

Duration

February 2019 - April 2022

Location

Omusati region / Namibia

With whom

DAPP Namibia

Website

www.dapp-namibia-org

Namibia

Population
2.5 million (2017)

Per Capita Income
USD 4,750/year (2017)

Poverty rate *
17% (2014)

Literacy rate
88% (2016)

Human Development Index
129th out of 189 countries (2018)

Since its independence in 1990, political stability and sound economic management enabled a notable progress in reducing poverty. The proportion of Namibians living under the national poverty line has dropped from 70% in1994 to 17% in 2016. However, the corresponding international poverty rate was at 32% in 2018. Typically, female headed households, children and labourers in subsistence farming are particularly vulnerable. Namibia remains one of the most unequal countries in the world. Despite steady economic growth unemployment remains extremely high, 38% among women and 43% among youths. With the bulk of Namibia’s employment being in the informal sector, primarily subsistence agriculture, the country has begun to adopt climate change strategies reducing vulnerability and improving adaptive capacity.

Sources: World Food Program, UNICEF, World Bank, 2016 Human Development Report, Human Development Indices and Indicators (2018 Statistical Update)

*The percentage of the population living below the national poverty line.