There are those who cry foul about land being turned over to people who cannot use it meaningfully every time the government expresses interest in acquiring a farm through expropriation for the resettlement of landless Namibians. The people who supposedly let land lie to waste are those being resettled, the majority of whom are black while those who ‘meaningfully’ and productively use land that is being expropriated are commercial farmers who happen to be whites. Examples given are those of farms that have become less productive after being allocated to landless black Namibians. Needless to say, there are commercial farms not belonging to blacks that are underutilized, underdeveloped and unproductive. By implication, farms become less productive because the people occupying them are black, for there are no other reasons given for the lack of production on these farms. Following the government’s expropriation of two farms – Wyoming and Kansas in the Omaheke Region – recently, there were grumblings in some quarters about the desirability of these farms being transferred to new owners who might not use them productively. This type of argument and mindset are not only dangerous, but deceitful. We have said before that black Namibians have been farming with great success for many years in the most arid and barren lands where they were driven after colonization. History is replete with examples. Today there is ample evidence that, when given a chance, black Namibians are capable of turning things around and making this country a breadbasket. They have the energy and requisite skills to make agriculture a success. If anything, this is the only thing they know best. They were born on the land, they are the people of the land and know how to use it. They know when the rains would come by looking at the sky, trees and nature. A huge chunk of the beef consumed in this country comes from black farmers, of course via white commercial farmers. This includes high-grade beef exported to other countries. Communal farming is a key pillar for commercial farming, without which output would not be the same. Put differently, communal farmers are the backbone of agriculture in Namibia. Many commercial white farmers are rich today, thanks to communal farmers who provided them with quality numbers of animals from which they made grand profits. Hence, it is absurd to try and play down the role of black communal farmers in farming. The same goes for crop farmers. There has been tremendous improvement in crop output. Crop production has increased especially in the northern communal areas where millet and maize meal are the staple food. It goes without saying, therefore, that should these people be resettled in arable commercial land, the country could see improved agricultural production. Indeed, some of the resettlement farms are performing below par and there are a host of reasons for this anomaly. The problems of newly resettled farmers are distinct and need to be investigated and addressed promptly. Their misfortunes, however, should not be used as a smokescreen to blackmail the policy of resettling landless Namibians. All Namibians have the right to land, and more so those who were previously removed from their land. It is also unhelpful that one man should own vast tracts of land such as Wyoming and Kansas in a country where land hunger is so high and one wonders whether this man had all this land used productively.