Dr. Axel Rothauge, Namibian animal scientist and rangeland specialist with 33 years’ professional experience (of which 9 years’ experience in South Africa) formed the consultancy company “AgriConsult Namibia” in 2013. The consultancy specialises in sustainable agriculture and natural resource management and utilisation. It aims to stimulate and contribute to the agricultural development of Namibia, especially in its densely-populated communal areas and focussing on adding value to natural resource products. AgriConsult has significant expertise in livestock production, sustainable rangeland management, the rehabilitation of degraded natural resources (e.g. forests), enterprise optimisation, rural development and farmer training. These are the foundation of Namibia’s agricultural and eco-tourism sectors. 

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My research

The following activities are highlighted:

• advising Namibian industry, especially the power utility NamPower, on environmentally-friendly vegetation management in industrial areas and power line transects and biomass-to-energy, focussing on encroacher bush;
• advising the Meat Corporation of Namibia (MeatCo) on the production, quarantining and marketing of beef from the FMD-stricken Zambezi region;
• advising the National Development Corporation (NDC) on beef production, game conservation, rangeland management and operational management of their 300,000 ha Mangetti cattle ranch;
• compiling baseline reports for development NGOs (e.g. MCA-N, GIZ), international bodies (e.g. FAO) and projects (e.g. NAFOLA: Namibia’s Forested Lands Program) on the sustainable management and utilisation of rangeland and forest resources, including disaster risk reduction, conservation agriculture, small-scale vegetable production, adapting to climate change and monitoring and evaluating progress;
• implementing climate change adaptation projects for the EU and Namibian companies, including disaster risk reduction and drought management;
• farmer development through training, mentoring and farmer support programmes, including the compilation of training materials and manuals;
• applied research on optimising livestock production, sustainable rangeland management and rehabilitation of degraded rangelands all over Namibia but especially in communal areas; and
• advising commercial livestock and game farmers on optimising production efficiency of their enterprises, including enterprise development, value addition and monitoring and evaluating progress.
• AgriConsult Namibia supports capacity development by providing formal post-graduate study opportunities (M.Sc., Ph.D.) for young Namibians with most of the bigger projects.

 

AgriConsult Namibia cooperates regularly with a large pool of subject matter specialists who are sub-contracted as needed, to maintain personnel flexibility and continuous access to diverse skill sets and the newest information. This enables AgriConsult Namibia to execute national projects at short notice with a strong focus on widely-dispersed field work. AgriConsult Namibia has extensive and proven experience in performing and implementing consultancy work independently, up to international standards, within budget and on schedule. Please contact us at agriconsult@iway.na for further enquiries.