Browsing by Author "Kamwi, Jonathan M."
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Item Dependency of rural communities on non-timber forest products in the dry lands of Southern Africa: A case of Mukwe constituency, Kavango East region, Namibia(Elsevier, 2020) Kamwi, Jonathan M.This paper examines the relationship between socio-economic and demographic factors and Non-Timber Forest Products (NTFPs) dependency among the rural communities of the Mukwe Constituency, Kavango East Region, Namibia. The study employed interviews of households using semi-structured questionnaires and personal ob- servations during July 2019 covering 102 respondents. The data was analyzed using descriptive statistics and the Chi-Square (X 2 ) to test the association between socio-economic and demographic factors with NTFPs depen- dency. Results showed that wild-fruits, mushroom, honey-bees, mopane worms, insects, medicinal plants, wild meat, ropes, reeds, thatching grasses and devil’s claw were the NTFPs prevalent in the study area. The results further showed that 71 % of the respondents were reliant on NTFPs for their diverse livelihoods. The Chi-square revealed no significant association between age, gender, marital status, number of people in the households, and NTFPs dependency ( P > 0.05). However, a significant association was found between NTFPs reliance and occupation, number of years in the village, number of people employed in the household, highest qualification, and employment status ( P < 0.05). The intra-community differentiation in the reliance on NTFPs, as revealed in this study, enables more effective targeting of forest management interventions and informs efforts to reconcile the goals of poverty reduction and sustainable forest management in Namibia and other countries with similar socio-economic and environmental conditionsItem Perception of farmers on conservation agriculture for climate change adaptation in Namibia(2018) Taapopi, M.; Kamwi, Jonathan M.; Siyambango, NguzaTraditional cultivation methods in Namibia are characterised by cultivating the same type of crops persistently on the same piece of land, using a disc or mouldboard plough with minimal to no fertilizer application. This study assessed the knowledge level of farmers’ on conservation agriculture and the household factors, which influence farmers to take up conservation agriculture in the Omusati Region of Namibia. Both socioeconomic and biophysical data were collected through household face-to-face interviews from 40 households located in seven constituencies of the Omusati Region. The results showed that technological know-how, limited agricultural inputs and implements for conservation agriculture hindered the uptake of conservation agriculture. In addition, lack of crop residues for mulching purposes and little understanding of the importance of crop rotation were identified as barriers to practice conservation agriculture. Logistic regression analysis showed that age, gender, marital status, education level, crop field size and farming period did not significantly influence the adoption of conservation agriculture. The study indicates that there is a need to encourage the use of climate smart agriculture technologies such as conservation agriculture, which minimizes the negative impacts of dry spells in order to maximize crop production and increase farmers’ understanding on the principles of conservation agriculture. Thus, strategies and policies to reduce poverty need to consider local contexts, social norms and values. In this regard, engagement of local farmers and demonstration of the short and long-term benefits of conservation agricultural practices offer promising entry points.Item Preliminary findings of a three-year retrospective study of the dynamics in red-offal condemnation at a cattle abattoir Q in Namibia(University of Namibia, 2019) Kandiwa, Erick; Mbiri, Pricilla; Samkange, Alaster; Bishi, Alec S.; Chitate, Frank; Madzingira, Oscar; Kamwi, Jonathan M.; Mushonga, Borden