Source: Sabrina Dean, Farmer’s Weekly, 24 June 2020, photo credit: Head Topics South Africa
One of the major obstacles still faced by new entrants in the farming sector was the lack of structured financial and practical support offered by the public and private sectors.
This was according to some of the participants of a recent online summit called ‘Agriculture, Prospects and Opportunities’, convened by economist Xhanti Payi and hosted by Absa.
Minister of Agriculture, Land Reform and Rural Development, Thoko Didiza, who was one of the speakers, said that blended financing was amongst the options that needed to be explored as a solution to the farmer development funding and support gap.
This type of financing, she said, could serve as a catalyst for development in the agriculture sector.
Didiza also suggested looking into reintroducing a mechanism such as the Agricultural Credit Board. She said that the Land Bank was not “really geared” to provide the type of support needed by “true emerging role players”.
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The South African Pork Producers’ Organisation (SAPPO) coordinates industry interventions and collaboratively manages risks in the value chain to enable the sustainability and profitability of pork producers in South Africa.
