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Good growth figures for AgriBank in 2009
AGRIBANK experienced growth of 70 per cent in the loans granted from January to December 2009 compared to 7 per cent growth for 2008.
The bank granted loans totalling N$135,9 million to 504 beneficiaries in 2009, up from N$79,9 million in 2008.
Livestock loans increased by 57 per cent from N$22 million in 2008 to N$34 million in 2009, taking the lion’s share of 26 per cent of the total loans granted.
“Over half of the N$34 million livestock loans granted benefited the National Agricultural Credit Programme (NACP) client segment. Corporate loans came to 19,4 per cent, farmland purchases were 19,2 per cent.
“Of the N$129,9 million loans granted to clients, N$8 million (6 per cent) benefited 91 women and N$72,8 million (56 per cent) benefited 365 men. N$20 million (15 per cent) benefited 56 couples and N$29 million (22 per cent) benefited 14 companies,” Leonard Iipumbu, CEO of AgriBank said yesterday.
In addition, 29 clients consolidated their existing loans with AgriBank to the amount of N$28 million as a result of the effects of the global economic crisis.
Since the inception of the Ekwatho Meatco Financing Scheme in September 2008, AgriBank has granted a total of N$16 million to 43 beneficiaries.
The scheme is intended to provide financing to the farming community to buy weaner calves to raise them to be slaughter ready so that they can be sold to Meatco abattoirs.
“AgriBank has already informed the Ministry of Lands and Resettlement about additional resources required and a meeting will be organised soon to discuss the issue,” Iipumbu said.
“The Ministry is also at an advanced stage to harmonise the communal and commercial land laws into one bill to enable all farming communities in the country to benefit from Government initiated schemes.
“AgriBank is quite concerned that the number of commercial farms being offered to Government for the State land reform programmes both for resettlement and the Affirmative Action Loan Scheme (AALS) keeps declining amidst rising demand for land from previously disadvantaged Namibians,” he said.
“In 2009, the purchase of farms under the AALS declined by 27 per cent from 11 farms bought for altogether N$16 807 494 during 2008 down to 6 farms in 2009 for N$12 300 150. To date 604 farms equalling 3,22 million hectares have been bought under the AALS for N$656 million.”
In addition AgriBank approved N$13 million for loans under the Post Settlement Support Fund (PSSF), benefiting 232 resettled farmers while 44 applications are still pending. Since the launching of the PSSF in May 2009, about 276 applications were received for a total of N$40 million requested, which is beyond the available resources.
As a result, AgriBank applied prudent financial control in the approval process of the loans to applicants in order to accommodate as many resettled farmers as possible.
The rise in price per hectare of farmland and the sale of land through ‘usufructs’ is a great concern to AgriBank as it has a significant effect on the availability of land for the land reform programmes to meet the current demand.
“We have embarked on a review of the AALS to assess and verify the status of those farms and the production level. AgriBank therefore appeals to Government through the Lands Ministry for immediate interventions on farm prices to ensure sustained availability (of land) for socio-economic development,” the CEO said.
