As part of its effort to increase participation in the agricultural sector by historically disadvantaged individuals and contribute to land reform, Land Bank is set to escalate its support to the emerging sector by increasing the disbursements for transformative initiatives to R3bn during the current financial year.
Land Bank has also been working on other methods to finance new entrants and is at current, together with the Department of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries (DAFF), are running a pilot programme, whereby grants from the department are used to supplement the bank’s loan for finance.
According to Land Bank’s acting CEO, Bennie van Rooy, the current matters around transformimg the agricultural sector are important. "As a development finance institute with a focus on impact financing, we acknowledge that funding is not the only catalyst for growth. We are also looking at a transfer of skills from large commercial farmers to emerging farmers, including vulnerable groups such as women and youth and in order to achieve this; collaboration with various stakeholders is essential."
