Impact of technology integration on olive farming in central Namibia

Namibia is one of the largest countries in southern Africa, with 825,418sqkm of territory. Its climate is marked by extremes in temperate and rainfall between north, central and southern parts. Most of Namibia receives less than 450mm of rainfall on average per year. Over the past 70years, Namibia has traditionally been agricultural with livestock and crop farming being the mainstay. More recently, owing to global growth in innovations and information flows, demand to diverse and venture into cash crops and olive farming in particular has grown. Along the advocacy for innovation and growth, it has been argued that the integration of modern technology has far reaching impact on the economy, on the environment and food production. However, there has been little emphasis on the factors and systems that promote and/or impede technology integration. The objective of this paper is to examine and present empirical evidence on factors that contribute to the successes and/or failures in technology integration. A case study on integrating diverse forms of technology in farming olives in an arid environment is presented. The case study focuses on the diffusion of olive farming technology at Hochfeld, north central Namibia. This case represents an attempt for technology applications and cooperation on product development between a higher education institution and the private sector. Overall, the results support the view that quality networks between entrepreneurs and universities; existence of a supportive policy and institutional framework as well as a defined Research and Development program sustain successful technology adoption and increase farm productive.