Agriculture needs youth, skills and business focus
Building skills to grow agriculture
Agra outlines steps to strengthen Namibia's agriculture through education, investment, and youth engagement.
Namibia’s agricultural sector must attract more skilled and younger participants if it is to remain viable, according to Agra CEO Arnold Klein.
Speaking during the announcement of Nedbank Namibia’s N$560 000 sponsorship towards the Agra Agricultural Academy, Klein highlighted a range of challenges facing the industry - from ageing farmers and rural-urban migration to low productivity and climate-related risks.
The Nedbank sponsorship will cover the tuition and registration fees for 20 students at the Agra Agricultural Academy, which is managed by Agra ProVision. However, the broader objective, according to Klein, is to build long-term national capacity by strengthening agricultural education and encouraging young Namibians to view farming as a viable and sustainable career.
Klein used the occasion to outline Agra’s ongoing efforts to respond to structural issues in the industry and contribute to national development.
Key role
Agra has operated in Namibia in various forms since before 1980 and transitioned from a cooperative to a limited liability company in 2013. The business remains locally rooted, with all profits reinvested in the country. Over the last 15 years, the company has invested an average of N$45 million annually in infrastructure and operations across Namibia.
It is also widely owned, with more than 3 800 shareholders - of whom 75% are active local farmers. The company reported revenue of N$2.7 billion in 2024, generating N$74 million in after-tax profit. Since 2017, N$61.7 million in dividends has been paid out to shareholders, and share value has grown 267% over 11 years.
Agra’s financial health, Klein noted, enables it to contribute materially to rural development and Namibia’s tax base.
Attractive career choice
A key theme of the address was the declining interest of young Namibians in farming. Klein said that agriculture is not widely seen as a professional or desirable career path, and this perception creates a talent pipeline problem. He stressed the need to reverse this trend by promoting agriculture as a viable business sector with career prospects.
The average age of farmers in Namibia is around 55, raising concerns about future workforce sustainability. Klein pointed to training and entrepreneurship as essential tools to modernise the sector and make it more appealing to younger generations. Agriculture, he said, must be reframed as a commercial opportunity with measurable returns, not simply as a means of subsistence.
Efforts to retain agricultural students within Namibia are also part of this agenda. The Agra Agricultural Academy was established in response to a trend where students seek training abroad but often do not return, contributing to local skills shortages.
Challenges in agriculture
While Agra is positioned as a strong private-sector player, Klein acknowledged that broader sector conditions remain difficult. Agriculture’s contribution to Namibia’s GDP has declined both in relative and absolute terms. Key stressors include drought, climate variability and the rising costs of production.
Input prices are increasing while producer prices fall, creating a profitability gap that Klein referred to as “negative jaws". These conditions, if unaddressed, risk making farming less sustainable over time. Klein called for more innovation and improved technical skills to raise productivity under difficult conditions.
Rural-urban migration is another concern. As more people move to cities in search of employment, rural agricultural communities lose both labour and economic activity. This trend increases pressure on urban centres and creates social imbalances. Klein suggested that national policy should include incentives to retain people in rural areas through job creation and infrastructure development linked to agriculture.
Shortages
A shortage of skilled trainers and weak knowledge transfer mechanisms were also cited as constraints. Agra plans to address this through its training division, ProVision, which focuses on building practical skills and technical competencies among new entrants.
Klein concluded that agriculture remains central to Namibia’s development trajectory. No country, he said, has industrialised without first strengthening its agricultural base - a view that aligns with national goals around food security, job creation, and economic inclusion. - [email protected]
Speaking during the announcement of Nedbank Namibia’s N$560 000 sponsorship towards the Agra Agricultural Academy, Klein highlighted a range of challenges facing the industry - from ageing farmers and rural-urban migration to low productivity and climate-related risks.
The Nedbank sponsorship will cover the tuition and registration fees for 20 students at the Agra Agricultural Academy, which is managed by Agra ProVision. However, the broader objective, according to Klein, is to build long-term national capacity by strengthening agricultural education and encouraging young Namibians to view farming as a viable and sustainable career.
Klein used the occasion to outline Agra’s ongoing efforts to respond to structural issues in the industry and contribute to national development.
Key role
Agra has operated in Namibia in various forms since before 1980 and transitioned from a cooperative to a limited liability company in 2013. The business remains locally rooted, with all profits reinvested in the country. Over the last 15 years, the company has invested an average of N$45 million annually in infrastructure and operations across Namibia.
It is also widely owned, with more than 3 800 shareholders - of whom 75% are active local farmers. The company reported revenue of N$2.7 billion in 2024, generating N$74 million in after-tax profit. Since 2017, N$61.7 million in dividends has been paid out to shareholders, and share value has grown 267% over 11 years.
Agra’s financial health, Klein noted, enables it to contribute materially to rural development and Namibia’s tax base.
Attractive career choice
A key theme of the address was the declining interest of young Namibians in farming. Klein said that agriculture is not widely seen as a professional or desirable career path, and this perception creates a talent pipeline problem. He stressed the need to reverse this trend by promoting agriculture as a viable business sector with career prospects.
The average age of farmers in Namibia is around 55, raising concerns about future workforce sustainability. Klein pointed to training and entrepreneurship as essential tools to modernise the sector and make it more appealing to younger generations. Agriculture, he said, must be reframed as a commercial opportunity with measurable returns, not simply as a means of subsistence.
Efforts to retain agricultural students within Namibia are also part of this agenda. The Agra Agricultural Academy was established in response to a trend where students seek training abroad but often do not return, contributing to local skills shortages.
Challenges in agriculture
While Agra is positioned as a strong private-sector player, Klein acknowledged that broader sector conditions remain difficult. Agriculture’s contribution to Namibia’s GDP has declined both in relative and absolute terms. Key stressors include drought, climate variability and the rising costs of production.
Input prices are increasing while producer prices fall, creating a profitability gap that Klein referred to as “negative jaws". These conditions, if unaddressed, risk making farming less sustainable over time. Klein called for more innovation and improved technical skills to raise productivity under difficult conditions.
Rural-urban migration is another concern. As more people move to cities in search of employment, rural agricultural communities lose both labour and economic activity. This trend increases pressure on urban centres and creates social imbalances. Klein suggested that national policy should include incentives to retain people in rural areas through job creation and infrastructure development linked to agriculture.
Shortages
A shortage of skilled trainers and weak knowledge transfer mechanisms were also cited as constraints. Agra plans to address this through its training division, ProVision, which focuses on building practical skills and technical competencies among new entrants.
Klein concluded that agriculture remains central to Namibia’s development trajectory. No country, he said, has industrialised without first strengthening its agricultural base - a view that aligns with national goals around food security, job creation, and economic inclusion. - [email protected]
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