Namibia: Selected Issues

This Selected Issues paper documents Namibia’s vulnerabilities to future weather shocks, including droughts and changes in rainfall patterns, discusses potential economic and fiscal implications, and explores public investment strategies. Investing in agricultural resilience, including water infrastructure, drought-resistant crops, and farmer insurance schemes, can mitigate climate-induced economic losses and improve food security. It is crucial to plan and implement a sound and fiscally feasible adaptation investment strategy to boost the resilience of agriculture. Continuing complementary efforts to strengthen adaptation are also important. The ongoing development of the National Resilience Building Strategy provides an opportunity to improve practices that help increase agriculture productivity and food security. Development and adoption of crop and animal insurance could be encouraged. Other insurance products could mitigate shocks against natural disasters. Together, these efforts help alleviate the financial burden of disasters, enabling affected populations to recover more efficiently and sustainably.