Interview with Mr. Andreas Amushila

Affirmative action farmer on farm Hafelberg

Grootfontein, October 2007

Q1/ Mr. Amushila, what previous experience of farming do you have?

A1/ As a boy I often worked as a farm labourer on farms near Windhoek . I also had agriculture as a subject at school. In 1992 I bought a plot of 480 hectares near Otavi. This was problematic because after some time, my herd of cattle increased from 15 to 180, so I had to hire grazing in other areas. I was a part-time cattle farmer, and I also produced maize and sorghum.

Q2/ When did you buy this farm?

A2/ I bought this farm a few years ago, through an agent. I took a loan from Agribank through the Affirmative Action Loan Scheme. The farm is good, and there is enough land. I am now a full-time farmer. I have 400 head of cattle and good registered bulls as well as goats and sheep.

Q3/ Why did you want to buy and own a farm?

A3/ When I retired I still had energy and was in good health, I therefore wanted to keep myself busy and produce something for the country. I also want to teach the younger people to work hard and to contribute to the economy of the country.

Q4/ What do you like about farming?

A4/ When I look at my animals I feel very proud that I have produced something. Farming is also a way to become independent – not to be employed, but to become an employer and thus reduce unemployment.

Q5/ How many employees do you have?

A5/ I have six full-time workers who have houses on the farm, plus a number of casual workers.

Q6/ How do you get on with your employees?

A6/ As a fulltime farmer you must be an employer plus a trainer. It is important to plan and discuss matters together, and to indicate what is to be achieved. The employees must know and understand your strategies for making the farm productive, such as, for example, cattle rotation. Also give them a chance to air their views! And use the experience of your farm workers who know the area and the cattle.

As a farm owner you must be involved in getting people to work, but you must work together in a democratic way. At meetings we write minutes and type the results, and then everybody gets a copy and signs it. The minutes are explained to the farm workers and translated, if necessary. I make sure that they understand everything so that, when I am not here, they know what to do and that their work is something we have agreed upon. They know what they are paid for and what is expected from them.

You also have to give your employees incentives like a bonus, on top of an annual increase - or you could shoot a kudu for them as a reward for a good job.

Q7/ How are relations with your neighbours?

A7/ Our neighbourly relations are very good. The local Meteorit Farmers Association is very active, and often offers training for farmers. There is also a group sponsored by the European Union that helps us with training.

But we also help each other. Last week, for example, one of my bulls jumped into Mr. Schneider's farm, and they immediately phoned to inform me. What is also putting us closer together is the selling of bulls; we sell them among each other for slightly lower prices. All farmers in this area are interested to produce good quality cattle.

Q8/ Why is land reform such an emotional issue?

A8/ It is emotional, because everyone wants a piece of land, but the land has been in the hand of white farmers. Therefore the government says: Because we cannot create land, we have to take farms from some white farmers. We know that some white farmers are willing to give land, but the farms that are sold to the government are not enough. This means that not everyone who wants a farm gets a farm. And this gets emotional, because some people get farms and other people don't.

In addition, very few black people can afford to buy a farm because of the past. Until independence, we black people were treated as second class citizens with very low salaries, and that affected us very much. While white people were able to save and provide for their children, paying in money during their childhood, black people did not have this chance.

Q9/ What do you say about expropriation?

A9/ Expropriation is also a very emotional issue. People who are trying to produce on a piece of land to earn a living are going to be punished by land grabs. Expropriation must be done in a peaceful way, otherwise it will create hatred, and that hate will not die. This is why the Herero people still talk about von Trotha and what happened 100 years ago. If something like expropriation is treated in a peaceful way, people will forget and forgive.

Q10/ You said many black people do not have enough money to buy farms. What about resettlement farms that are allocated to people by the government?

A10/ Many people also complain about resettlement farms. The land is given to people, but people are not trained as farmers. It is as if a person is given a car, but is not taught to drive. People therefore are destroying the land instead of producing on it economically, and some farms really go down. But if you get a farm, you have to start where the other ( the previous owner ) has ended, go from there, and improve.

Q11/ I met quite a lot of resettlement people who are very happy on their piece of land, even if they have remained rather poor.

A11/ You are right, it keeps people happy, but I don't like the idea of people sitting on farms and being idle. Many people are used to being dependent and therefore continue to depend on the government. But I am happy if a person is doing something: Those who lack skills must be assisted, but they must not just sit around while fences and pumps are breaking. There needs to be planning and development – this is what we would like to see in Namibia . But I know that it is very difficult to move from our traditional way of farming to modern ways of production. You cannot expect a person who is resettled to suddenly work and produce like a white commercial farmer.

Q12/ Is it true that most affirmative action farmers are also not very successful? What are their biggest problems?

A11/ Farming is something good, but you need a lot of money in order to be a productive farmer. Farming is not only about having land, you also need animals and capital. And if you have money, you must use it correctly. When you get a loan from Agribank, it is not easy to pay the money back. But over a period of 22 years you should be able to sell enough cattle and pay back your loan. You could even try to reduce payments to a shorter period.

When you decide to buy a farm, you must have full knowledge of the advantages and disadvantages of your land and of farming. Some people just buy a farm for the sake of having a farm and do not make sure that the farm is of good quality, and this very soon puts them into a problem.

In Namibia , we also have this tendency of blaming. I see that some people do not use their money or their loans correctly. They buy farms with loans, but the first thing they do is buy expensive diesel cars on hire purchase and then have difficulties paying back their loans. When the car is confiscated by the bank, he or she blames Agribank.

Q13/ After independence the government promised to return at least part of the land to the black people. At the same time, it seems that people are not well prepared to be good farmers in commercial areas?

A13/ We also have to blame our politicians. They want to be praised and use land reform for their election campaigns, promising a lot of things. Surely we want farms, but we also want the land to be productive, so there is a conflict between the political and the economic aims of land reform.

It would make things better if politicians would tell people the truth: Rome was not built in one year. Training for prospective farmers is important. If we want the land to be productive, land reform needs to go slowly.

Q14/ Do you think that in Namibia there is a basic difference between black and white farmers and their connection to land?

Q14/ Yes, there is, but this is mainly because of our past. In the old political system black people were not respected as fellow human beings. They were denied a good education, and they were left behind due to that. This created animosity among people, and these things are still in some people' mind. For example, all white people are still seen as having a lot of money.

Today we are moving away from old traditions and old politics. Most white farmers around here are very friendly and helpful. I can ask them for assistance, and they give me advice freely, but if they give me material things, I pay them.

They give us, for example, special prices for bulls that we want to buy. They do this not only to earn money, but to ensure that in our area everybody produces cattle of good quality, so that, when we take our cattle to the market, there is no difference between black and white farmers. We all have one aim, and that is farming - and we need to work together as a team.

Q15/ What about some people's traditional attitude towards cattle – that it is a status symbol?

A15/ That is what you find with black people: as long as they have a lot of cattle, it increases their status. If an ox becomes old and looses weight, they are still proud of it. For the Ovambos it is ‘cattle and corn' - as long as you have lots of that, you are a rich person. A money economy is still something new, and it is very difficult to move from the old to the modern tradition.

Q16/ Should the African traditions of production simply be given up?

A16/ The old traditions will die out. You cannot go to town to buy things with cattle. What you need is money. The new generation will not have a problem with this.

Q17/ Is the younger generation also as ‘land hungry' as those who were part of the war of liberation?

A17/ The younger generation is not very interested in farming and in hard work, so the land hunger will decrease. Our young people do not want to struggle or dirty their hands and prefer white collar jobs. They want to have nice cars and houses. This is the same among blacks and whites. They do not want farms, they want good jobs. Maybe, if the land hunger decreases, only those people who are really interested in farming will buy farms and use them economically, while at the moment only very few people on farms are really productive .