Transformation in the agriculture sector is lagging behind, by all accounts, despite numerous projects and efforts from both private and government institutions to establish new farmers. As financing poses the biggest challenge for many farmers, this is an area that requires the most intervention.
Pieter van Welzen, senior consultant on financial markets in Africa at law firm CMS RM Partners, who is providing legal counsel for Rabobank’s foray into Southern Africa through its dedicated smallholder farmer fund, says that commercial banks view smallholder farmers as too risky to lend to.
“This leaves [these] farmers with limited options to secure funding for expansion, and hampers how fast South Africa’s farmers, most of whom are not large commercial operations, can scale up to access markets.”
Rabobank is one of several private institutions looking at blended financing models to help solve this problem. These models combine different kinds of funding to provide loans at favourable rates, rather than just by giving handouts.
COLLABORATION
Van Welzen explains that there are various forms that blended finance can take, but overall entails a combination of different types of financing, with various risk appetites, into one ‘financing’ solution.
“It is not dissimilar to a project finance transaction, with senior, mezzanine and subordinated debt, with different levels of risks and returns.
هذه القصة مأخوذة من طبعة October 30, 2020 من Farmer's Weekly.
ابدأ النسخة التجريبية المجانية من Magzter GOLD لمدة 7 أيام للوصول إلى آلاف القصص المتميزة المنسقة وأكثر من 8500 مجلة وصحيفة.
بالفعل مشترك ? تسجيل الدخول
هذه القصة مأخوذة من طبعة October 30, 2020 من Farmer's Weekly.
ابدأ النسخة التجريبية المجانية من Magzter GOLD لمدة 7 أيام للوصول إلى آلاف القصص المتميزة المنسقة وأكثر من 8500 مجلة وصحيفة.
بالفعل مشترك? تسجيل الدخول
Mac farmer takes Mpumalanga young farmer title
Kobus Pieters, a macadamia farmer from Hazyview, has been crowned Agri Mpumalanga's Young Farmer of the Year 2024. He now proceeds to the national Agri SA Toyota Young Farmer of the Year competition, where he will compete against winners from the other eight provinces for a chance to take home the title and a brand-new Toyota bakkie in October this year.
A cautiously optimistic outlook for consumers, despite some risks uncertainties and
According to Agbiz, South Africa’s consumer food inflation rate has slowed further in recent months. As of the writing of this article, the consumer food inflation rate in April 2024 was 4,4%, down from 4,9% in the previous month.
Breeder’s critical view of Simmentalers
In the Free State there is a Fleckvieh stud breeder who claims there is a marked difference between his breed and German Fleckvieh. According to him, no distinction is made in South Africa between the two breeds, and both are classed as Simmentalers. His animals are out of Swiss Simmentalers.
Gold mine pollution hampering smallscale growers
Lesego Khomo, senior lecturer in the Department of Environmental Science at the University of South Africa, explains how gold mine pollution is poisoning Soweto’s water and soil.
A Karoo-farm holiday for the family or business traveller
This is the ideal Karoo-farm stopover between the Western Cape and Gauteng,
Toyota 48V: hybrid heavyweights in a changing world
Toyota's global mandate to lower overall emissions via a multi-technology approach sees the venerable Hilux and popular Fortuner packages receive their timely respective doses of hybridisation. By CAR.
Promising new cultivars on show at sorghum demonstration day
Magda du Toit recently attended a sorghum cultivar demonstration day and takes a look at the exciting new products making their way onto the market.
The basics of sheep shearing
Sheep shearing is a specialised skill, but with adequate training, anyone can learn how to effectively and efficiently shear a sheep,
Healthy soils lead to healthy plants and animals
Dr Louis du Pisani shed light on why biodiversity is important, and its impact on soil, plant and animal health at the World Veterinary Association Congress held in Cape Town.
'SA's water crisis could turn into a human catastrophe'
Abysmal management has left South Africa's water and wastewater infrastructure in a severely compromised position, Lambert de Klerk, manager of Environmental Affairs at AfriForum