Freedom, Vastness, Farm Life – Agricultural Internship in Namibia

Many people know Namibia primarily as a holiday destination with its endless horizons, the Namib Desert or Etosha National Park. But beyond these famous tourist attractions, another economic sector shapes the country and its landscape in a significant way: agriculture.

Agriculture in Namibia – Living and Farming in the Dry South of Africa 

Namibia is considered one of the driest countries in southern Africa. Large parts of the country consist of semi-deserts or dry savannas, and rain often falls only within a few weeks or even days per year. Despite these harsh conditions, agriculture plays a central role—economically and socially. Around two-thirds of the population depend directly or indirectly on agriculture, and the sector contributes about 7.7% to the gross domestic product.

Livestock farming is particularly important, especially cattle, sheep, and goats. Approximately 2.5 million cattle live in Namibia. In the drier regions, extensive grazing systems with cow-calf operations dominate. While 47% of the country’s land area is used for agricultural purposes, only 1% is suitable for crop production. On these limited cropping areas, the cultivation of grain maize and sorghum is significant but restricted to regions with higher rainfall or good groundwater availability.

Starting the Internship – Agricultural Structures and Climatic Conditions in Namibia

In mid-August 2025, I had the opportunity to spend a month working on a farm in northern Namibia as part of a voluntary internship. The farm is located in a wide valley between the Otavi Mountains. Alongside cow-calf production, the farm also keeps dairy cows—something that has become rare in Namibia at this scale due to strong price pressure from South Africa.

In addition to cattle farming, the operation cultivates around 300 hectares of arable land. Grain maize, silage maize, and sunflowers are grown. These fields are entirely rain-fed, with no supplementary irrigation, and thus fully dependent on natural rainfall. After two very dry years with only about 300 millimeters of precipitation annually, this year brought more than 1,000 millimeters of rain. As a result, the pastures were lush, and crop yields were satisfactory. During my stay, winter—and thus the dry season—had already begun in Namibia, so there was not much fieldwork left to do.

The farm keeps around 50 milking Brown Swiss cows and 100 beef cows, mainly crossbreeds of heat-tolerant Brahman, Angus, Brown Swiss, and Brangus cattle. They graze on harvested maize fields and vast natural rangelands together with a few donkeys and native wildlife such as eland antelopes, duikers, kudus, and warthogs.

My Daily Routine

My daily tasks, in addition to the routine duties on a dairy farm, were very diverse. Milking starts at 7 a.m. The cows spend the night in a “kraal,” a fenced area near the milking parlor where they are also fed. Milking takes place twice a day in a six-unit tandem milking parlor. The average milk yield is around 15 liters per cow per day. In the future, performance and animal health are expected to improve through targeted breeding and artificial insemination.

Craftsmanship, Young Talent and Wide-Open Spaces – How the Farm Uses Its Resources

The milk is processed directly on the farm in its own dairy and cheese factory. They produce yogurt, cream, buttermilk and several types of cheese such as feta, cream cheese, halloumi and gouda. Every day, several kilograms of fresh and hard cheese are produced and sold directly to lodges, private customers and supermarkets. In the dairy, I gained my first fascinating insights into this area, which was completely new to me, and I even had the opportunity to assist in cheese production. What impressed me most was how the farm manages to create such high-quality and diverse products with limited resources.

Part of the milk and the resulting whey are used for raising calves. The bull calves are fattened until weaning and then usually sold at auctions, mostly to South Africa, while the heifer calves are raised as replacements for the herd. The dairy cows are fed maize and sorghum silage as well as a custom-made concentrate mix of grain maize, sunflower, alfalfa pellets, mineral feed and sugarcane molasses. The feed is mixed by hand in the troughs of the kraals. In addition, the cows can graze on the pastures and receive hay produced on the farm. The beef cows stay year-round on the large pasture and harvested maize fields, some of which span several hundred hectares.

The stocking density familiar in Germany (livestock units per hectare) is, due to the pronounced winter drought, essentially reversed in Namibia to hectares per animal. Depending on the location and performance goals, up to 20 hectares per animal—ideally without supplementary feeding—are required.

Between Fences and Wildlife – Why Animal Health Is a Top Priority

After milking, a daily inspection drive across the farm was scheduled. During this round, the kilometers of fencing are checked for damage or unauthorized entry, the animals are counted and supplied with additional mineral feed. A special focus of the farm has always been on animal health. Regular vaccinations are carried out, including during my stay. Among others, vaccinations against brucellosis, lumpy skin disease and rabies—found especially in the kudu population in Namibia—are routine. For this purpose, the animals are gathered at the “posts”, where handling facilities, water points and central driveways to the various grazing areas are located.

To avoid the intense midday sun, the afternoon shift begins only after a longer lunch break. Tasks during this time often included, in addition to milking, mixing the farm’s own concentrate feed, repair work, or harvesting the remaining sunflower heads left in the fields

A Valuable Experience in Many Ways

My time in Namibia was enriching in many respects. In addition to the technical and practical experience, I personally learned a great deal about initiative, improvisation and teamwork. Whether working on repairs, developing new ideas, or collaborating with the sixteen employees in daily operations — every day offered valuable lessons.

Sharing Challenges, Experiencing Special Moments

At the same time, it became clear that many of the challenges we face in Germany are also present in Namibia. Weather extremes—whether drought or heavy rainfall—high production costs combined with low market prices, difficulties in finding employees and extensive bureaucracy, which differs little from that in Germany, are daily challenges for farm managers here as well.

Nevertheless, the many long and demanding workdays are rewarded in a very special way. The breathtaking sunrises and sunsets, the endless open landscapes, the clear night sky and, above all, the sociable evenings enjoying a “sundowner” at the most beautiful spots on the farm make this internship unforgettable.

I would like to express my sincere thanks to the two farm managers, the employees and all the new friends who made this internship such a unique experience, as well as to the DLG, without whose support as part of the Young Talents Award this internship would not have been possible.