The Namibian government has told a first group of farmers they must sell their property under land reforms that some fear could wreak as much havoc with agriculture as a similar program did in Zimbabwe.

Land Minister Hifikepunye Pohamba this week sent letters to about 10 white farm owners. The letter were hand-delivered by ministry officials accompanied by police, The Namibian newspaper reported on Friday.

In the letters, Pohamba told the farmers they were "cordially invited to make an offer to sell their property to the state and to enter into further negotiations in that regard," according to the report.

Some of the farmers identified were Hilde Renate Wiese, a German-speaking Namibian, B Ruch, a German national who bought his farm in 1974, and a Belgian owner of a farm. They were given 14 days to respond.

These were the first notices to be issued under the land reform program launched in 1995 to redress the ownership imbalance stemming from the fact that much of Namibia's arable land belongs to white farmers.

"We have started implementing the law," the land minister was quoted as saying.

"We have issued many notices. I cannot remember how many, but I can tell you they are many", he said.

One of the farm owners to be served the notice had evicted six labourers and their dependents after a court order late last year following a labour dispute.

They were reinstated two months ago after a new court ruling, but not allowed to live on the farm again.

Namibia has repeatedly said that any land seizures would be strictly legal with "fair and just compensation" paid to owners.

President Sam Nujoma, who has led Namibia since its 1990 independence, last month said seizures will be "implemented strictly within the provisions of our constitution and other relevant laws," adding: "Any concerns regarding the implementation of land expropriation should be laid to rest."

But barely a week later during May Day celebrations, he said the government would seize land from white farmers who treated their workers badly.

Opposition parties reacted with concern to the first notices, with Ignatius Shixwameni of the Congress of Democrats saying: "There is simply no reason to ape the disastrous example of Zimbabwe by creating uncertainty in the economy." President Robert Mugabe's controversial land reform programme in which white-owned farms were seized for redistribution to new black farmers is cited as one of the reasons for food shortages and economic problems in Zimbabwe.

Siggi Eimbeck of the Namibia Farmers Support Initiative (NFSI) said the expropriation was "irresponsible and causing international damage to Namibia's reputation."

"It will cause economic and political destabilisation. There about 35 000 farm workers in the country with about 135 000 dependents. If the farms get expropriated, where do the workers and their families go?" Eimbeck told AFP.

The National Agricultural Union (Nau) which represents about 3 000 mostly white farmers will discuss the matter at a special meeting next week, an official told AFP.

Of the estimated 3 800 commercial farms in the country, some 700 have changed hands and have black owners since Namibia's independence in 1990. - Sapa-AFP