Masters Degrees (Philosophy)
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Browsing Masters Degrees (Philosophy) by Subject "Agricultural systems -- Namibia"
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- ItemFarming is business: rethinking commercialization of farming in the Aminuis communal area, Omaheke region, Namibia(Stellenbosch : Stellenbosch University, 2023-08) Tjiharuka, David; Hattingh, Johan; Stellenbosch University. Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences. Dept. of Philosophy. Applied Ethics.ENGLISH ABSTRACT: To redress the inequality created by the colonial regimes, i.e. the German and South African colonial administrations in the Namibian agricultural fraternity, the sovereign Republic of Namibia Government introduced commercial farming in the communal areas five years after independence, in 1995. The farming system, specifically sedentary ranching (in distinction from nomadic farming), adopted and practiced for the commercialization of farming in the Aminuis communal area resulted, however, in social, economic, and ecological problems. Soil bareness and infertility, poor vegetation growth, disappearance of vegetation and wildlife species, and bush encroachment are the environmental impacts of the sedentary ranching system. On the other hand, tension and conflict, and physical fights are the social impacts of the sedentary ranching system. To investigate the root cause, nature, depth and extent of these social, economic, and ecological problems, this research deployed a mixed methodology i.e. desktop study and qualitative interviews. The research discovered that the privatization of communal land, overstocking and overgrazing of grazing land, homesteads mushrooming, and deforestation are the basic characteristics of the sedentary ranching system that have caused the environmental degradation and social dysfunction. Further, these essential components are underpinned by survival, augmentation of livelihood, pastoralism, social identity, and individual dignity values. Hence, to restore the environmental quality and social cohesion, the farmers and residents have to reexamine their values and alter them. In this study a proposal is formulated that can guide the community of Aminuis in this process of re-examination.