Agricultural Science (AS)·General agriculture · NSSCAS 1.3
Government incentives & advisory services
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Two cattle farmers face the same drought in the Omaheke region. One sells his weak animals early through a registered auction, collects a government marketing payment, and keeps his farm alive. The other holds on too long and loses everything. The difference was not luck — it was knowing how to use the help the government offers. In this lesson we learn exactly what that help is: the incentives that push farmers to produce and market, their good and not-so-good effects, and the extension and advisory services that carry expert knowledge from the laboratory all the way to the farmer's field.
What you'll learn in this lesson
By the end you should be able to (NSSCAS Agricultural Science (AS) 1.3):
- Explain why the Namibian government becomes involved in agricultural development
- Define an agricultural incentive and give everyday examples
- Describe the main incentives the government provides, including the livestock marketing incentive, subsidies, drought relief, subsidised fencing and boreholes, input subsidies, AMTA marketing support and tax incentives
- Discuss the positive effects of agricultural incentives on agricultural development
- Discuss the possible negative effects of incentives, such as dependency and market distortion
- Explain what extension and advisory services are and why farmers need them
- Describe the extension and advisory services the government provides — extension officers, Agricultural Development Centres, fresh-hubs, veterinary services and DART research — and their uses
- Explain how research, extension and the farmer are linked in one support system
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