Income Diversification Through Wildlife:
Examining the Resilience of Namibian Private Farmers
Project Responsibilities
The key responsibility of the Namibian field research was to interview 25 farmers and note their income and expenses, taking into account costs/profits earned from cattle and wildlife separately. The farming practices will then be analyzed across properties by comparing income per hectare. This metric could determine if wildlife production is more profitable than cattle ranching in the arid Kunene and Otjozondjupa regions of north-central Namibia.
PI:
Dr. Jane Southworth
Department of Geography, University of Florida
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Involvement:
Patrick Gawienczuk has been engaged in Namibian remote sensing research with the NASA lab since the Summer of 2023, and began involvement with the Child lab though field research in the Summer of 2024.
Project Objectives
The primary research goal is determining what strategies Namibian private farmers utilize to diversify incomes, and to what extent landowners partake in the wildlife economy. Namibia is notable for its private ownership of wildlife which many farmers utilize though selling trophy hunts of antelopes and zebras, or by processing the animals into game meat sold in local markets. Wildlife production may also serve as a more ecologically sustainable method of income than traditional large stock rearing, preventing the soil erosion and bush encroachment associated with cattle ranching
A secondary objective of this research is to identify private farmers which would be willing to speak at Community Based Natural Resource Management (CBNRM) meetings with conservancy leaders. Increasing the dialogue between communal and private farmers can promote the transfer of ecologically sustainable farming practices and aid in the drought resistance of subsistence farming households.
