APMD Benchmarking Namibia’s Livestock Export Model

APMD stakeholders at Meatco.

The African Pastoral Markets Development Platform has concluded a benchmark visit that brought together delegates from its regional lighthouse countries—Kenya and Nigeria for the Horn of Africa and Sahel Regions respectively to learn from Namibia’s globally acclaimed livestock production and beef exportation model as informed by the pre-benchmark gap analysis report. This is in alignment with the Platform’s efforts to strengthen livestock value chains and improve trade readiness across Africa’s pastoral regions under the framework of the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA).

The benchmark provided an opportunity for the stakeholders to draw lessons from Namibia’s robust policy frameworks, institutional coordination, market compliance and infrastructure development, all of which contribute to the country’s strong performance in livestock export trade and its ability to meet stringent requirements for the global markets, including the European Union, United States of America and China. “Namibia provides a clear blueprint for what is possible when disease control, market compliance, and data ecosystems work in synergy. The learning from this visit will shape practical reforms and investments back home,” noted Dr. Richard Kyuma from the Kenyan Lighthouse Team.

Delegates engaged with Namibia’s Directorate of Veterinary Services on disease control and surveillance in her Disease-Free Zones, which are strategically established and maintained under the oversight of the DVS and the Livestock and Livestock Product Board (LLPB).

 These zones enforce strict biosecurity protocols, movement controls and regular surveillance to prevent the incursion of transboundary animal diseases (TADs) and enhance adherence to the sanitary and phytosanitary standards (SPS). The zoning systems underpin Namibia’s ability to provide traceable, high-quality livestock products that meet the health and safety requirements.

At the core of Namibia’s livestock production is the Animal Identification and Traceability System, NamLITS, an integrated digital platform that enables real-time tracking of livestock that assigns each animal a unique identification tag and records movements, vaccinations and health interventions across the production. The system not only facilitates export certification to high-value markets but also strengthens the national disease surveillance, response capacity and transparency in livestock governance. From the systems, the delegates learned of the system as a model to build a data-driven and export-ready livestock value chain. Despite the existence of traceability systems in the visiting countries—Animal Identification and Traceability (ANITRAC) and National Animal Identification and Traceability System (NAITS) for Kenya and Nigeria respectively, the delegates learned of the operationalization and uptake of the system, something that they would love to replicate for optimal success in their respective system roll-out.

Strategically located along the Atlantic coast, Namibia’s Walvis Bay Port provides efficient logistical access to international trade routes as it serves as the primary maritime gateway for outbound shipments to her markets, thus enabling Namibia to maintain competitive delivery times and cost-effective freight operations. Significant to its functionality in the livestock value chain is a well-integrated cold chain infrastructure that ensures the preservation of meat quality from processing to final destination. The cold chain system includes temperature-controlled storage facilities, reefer container management and seamless coordination with MeatCo. Thereby enabling uninterrupted refrigeration throughout the handling and  transit process. Fitted with data loggers to monitor the temperatures, and enhanced hygienic controls, Walvis Bay helps Namibia meet Sanitary and Phytosanitary (SPS) and food safety standards as required by global importers. Furthermore, the port’s customs and inspection protocols align with the export certification requirements, thus ensuring compliance with the international animal health and product traceability regulations. On the other hand, Kenya decries the high cost of freight services despite her possession of international airports, dry ports and the Port of Mombasa along the Indian Ocean. 

Namibia’s Meat Corporation (MeatCo.), a state-owned enterprise operating under commercial principles, is the country’s leading meat processor and exporter and manages the entire value chain from sourcing cattle from communal and commercial farmers to processing, packaging and exporting whilst ensuring full traceability and compliance with global market requirements. The corporation operates modern abattoirs equipped with hygienic handling systems, vacuum sealing and rapid chilling technologies that preserve product quality and extended shelf life. Moreover, Meatco supports inclusive procurement by sourcing from both large-scale commercial farms and communal producers, therefore linking smallholder farmers to high-value export markets.

The corporation is also responsible for the branding of livestock products, trading under the “nature reserved” brand in the Norwegian market, with transparent indication of the feed used in productions i.e. “pasture-raised”, “grain-fed” labels, thus setting a benchmark for Africa in branding, value addition, quality assurance and export-inclined livestock development. 

Established under the Meat Industry Act, the Livestock and Livestock Products Board (LLPB) serves as a strategic regulatory and developmental role in facilitating the export of beef and livestock products by overseeing the marketing, quality assurance and export readiness of Namibia’s livestock sector. The board collaborates with producers, processors, exporters and the DVS to uphold the integrity, traceability and competitiveness of the Namibian beef in the global markets. One of its crucial roles is setting and enforcing grading standards and livestock classification that are aligned with their target consumer requirements and to position Meatco’s ability to adhere to the SPS measures demanded by the premium markets. Through the Board’s market intelligence, they are able to monitor export trends, market access conditions and price movements to inform both policy and private sector decision-making. Further, it provides technical guidance and training to producers on best practices in animal husbandry and biosecurity, thus fostering a culture of quality and accountability.

The Namibian National Farmers Union (NNFU), a national umbrella body for regional farmer associations, represents the interests of the communal and emerging farmers, ensuring the inclusive, equitable and impactful participation of its members in the livestock value chain. The union advocates for policies and programs that enhance market access and productivity, especially for smallholder producers in rural and marginalized areas. In collaboration with the Ministry of Agriculture, Water and Fisheries, the Livestock and Livestock Product Board, and Meatco, NNFU facilitates farmer integration into formal livestock marketing systems, including the adherence to animal health standards, traceability requirements and grading protocols necessary for unlocking the premium export markets. Beyond trade, the NNFU is involved in farmer welfare and rural development, championing access to veterinary services, infrastructure and extension support. Further, it advocates for gender equity and youth engagement, working to create opportunities to address historical inequalities in the agricultural sector. Through its coordinated efforts, therefore, the union bridges the gap between policy and grassroots needs, ensuring that communal farmers are active stakeholders in Namibia’s export-driven livestock economy and that their welfare is key to the country’s agricultural transformation agenda.

Towards action and impact.

The benchmarking exercise adapted an action-oriented approach in which the delegates developed country-specific implementation plans that would localize Namibia’s best practices. The action plans prioritized : 

  • Policy and regulatory reforms. 

  • Infrastructure and systems strengthening. 

  • Capacity building needs for public and private stakeholders.

  • Gender and youth-inclusive programming.

  • Climate-adaptive investments. 

Equally, the visit served to deepen cross-country collaboration, strengthen institutional networks and build a shared agenda around APMD’s efforts in enabling inclusive, data-driven and export-oriented pastoral economies. Namibia affirmed her willingness to share her best practices and guidance to enable other African countries to unlock their optimal potential in the beef-export trade. "Evidently, we—Namibia are Africa’s leaders in beef export, and this shows by the number of delegations that benchmark. It is therefore our appeal to the AU-IBAR to set up Meatco as a Center of Excellence,” said Ms. Marchella Somaes, Meatco Operations Manager, in her vote of thanks to the delegates.

As the Platform looks ahead, the Namibia benchmark mission is expected to serve as a foundation for strategic partnerships, policy harmonization, and private sector engagement that unlock Africa’s full livestock trade potential, not only to the international markets but also for Intra-African trade.