Land shortage slows irrigation plans in the Neckartal Valley

Plans to develop the irrigation project at the Neckartal Dam have stalled because the government lacks the necessary funds to acquire a further 3,705 hectares of strategically important farmland. The Ministry of Agriculture told the parliamentary committee for natural resources during a visit to the ǁKharas Region.

For the second phase of the Neckartal irrigation project, a total of 5,000 hectares of agricultural land below the dam are to be irrigated. Although the state has already acquired around 20,000 hectares of land, only five to ten percent of it is suitable for irrigated agriculture. The remainder is mainly suitable for livestock farming, feedlots and other agricultural activities. In addition, some areas are too far from the water source, making additional pipelines and infrastructure necessary.

According to Albertus Engelbrecht from the ministry, the main problem is that property owners want to sell their entire farms, while the government only needs portions of the land. However, there are currently no budget funds available for this.

Construction of the Neckartal Dam began in 2013 and was completed in 2019. Costing more than 5.7 billion Namibian dollars and with a capacity of around 856 million cubic metres, it is Namibia’s largest dam. Despite the delays, the government is pressing ahead with planning. The consulting firm Dunamis Consulting is currently preparing a technical and economic feasibility study for agriculture and the irrigation of suitable land. Detailed planning is to be completed by December 2026.