Namibia has since Independence made substantial efforts in supporting rural development. However, the Situation Analysis carried out as part of the preparation of this Strategy and summarised in the context chapter of the strategy shows, that in spite the continued efforts by all stakeholders and progress in many fields, poverty in rural areas remain high. The rural economy continues to lag behind with unemployment increasing and reaching unsustainable levels. A number of sector interventions have been found to be insufficiently oriented to support rural development and improvements for the rural poor. The National Rural Development Strategy (NRDS) is designed to address these issues. It will be implemented within the framework of the National Development Plan 4 (NDP4) and the National Rural Development Policy (NRDP).