Namibia is the one of the driest countries in sub-Saharan Africa and northern Namibia is agro-ecologically one of the most marginal places in the world where crop farming is nevertheless still a mainstay of the local subsistence economy. This makes Namibian smallholders particularly risk-averse and hinders extension efforts aimed at promoting crop diversification. On the other hand, Namibia is a large country with a small population and many areas have a substantial resource endowment of indigenous plants with the potential to contribute both cash and in-kind benefits to rural livelihoods. Moreover, a lack of viable alternatives implies that indigenous plant products can (in theory, at least) be produced in Namibia at a relatively lower opportunity cost than in most parts of southern Africa - ironically, this might eventually translate into a decisive competitive advantage for Namibian producers.