ABSTRACT
In Namibia, the productivity and biodiversity of some 45 million hectares of agricultural land are negatively affected by bush encroachment. An innovation platform was established to research the potential to increase returns to mechanical control of encroacher bushes (Senegalia mellifera and Terminalia sericea) in communally owned rangelands. The project identified an economically viable use of the bushes for feed, charcoal, and mushroom production but found that the majority of the farmers were not engaged in these activities. The farmers prioritised poles, droppers, and firewood for household consumption because these are legal uses that require little capital input. The CARP project established a community incubation hub for the production of bush-based feed, droppers, and mushroom at Okondjatu as a training and product development centre. The farmers are not investing in bush control despite the economic and environmental benefits. This has implications for policy review or subsidised bush-clearing in communal areas because, unlike private leasehold farmers, they are limited by tenure and by legislation. Support for bush-clearing will allow the bush value chain activities to scale out, thus improving biodiversity and livelihoods.
