Agri Hour
SA will struggle without viable agricultural finance system - Didiza─── CHRISTAL-LIZE MULLER 07:00 Thu, 10 Oct 2019
Without a viable agricultural finance system, South Africa will struggle to support black farmers in their strive to grow and farm sustainably. This is a reality facing the agricultural industry.
This is according to the Minister of Agriculture, Land Reform and Rural Development, Thoko Didiza, who spoke at the African Farmers' Association of South Africa's (Afasa) third Agri-Business Transformation Conference which took place outside Bloemfontein this week.
Didiza said the possibility of an Agricultural Credit Board, as a funding model, need to be reconsidered. She said a Credit Board, apart from the Land Bank, is a reflection of a system that South Africa had within the State Development Agency, prior to 1994.
She said back then the Land Bank focused mainly on commercial farmers while the Credit Board provided funding to farmers entering the industry. Resources were provided on an annual basis from the state. "You had a board that represented various stakeholders outside the government, but also with government representation. The Agricultural Credit Board's functions were, however, transferred after 1994 to the Land Bank and that created some difficulties for the bank.
Here is Didiza...
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