Agribank avails N$104m subsidy to help drought-hit farmers
Agribank yesterday announced a drought aid subsidy to the tune of N$104.6 million.
This will be in the form of installment relief and a waiver of penalty interest for its customers. According to the bank’s CEO, Dr Raphael Karuaihe, the first intervention - the installment relief - is limited to Agribank customers with agricultural land and multi-loan accounts. "The installment relief targets customers who are in good standing and whose installments are due from 1 April to 31 March 2025. Customers who fell into arrears between 1 April 2023 and 31 March 2024 will also be considered,” he said.
“Accounts of eligible customers will be credited in full as and when installments are due, and delinquent accounts will be credited with immediate effect. The total commitment for this intervention is N$104.6 million.”
Challenging times
According to him, the second intervention involves Agribank waiving penalty interest amounting to approximately N$83 million for this financial year for all its customers who are in arrears.
"We are facing challenging times for both our customers and the bank. We want both to survive, and we are trying to balance many considerations to ensure that our customers are given some leeway to get through this difficult period,” Karuaihe said.
Most of the customers on Agribank's loan book - about 80% - are livestock farmers in communal agricultural areas.
According to the bank, 1 134 of its 2 634 customers (43%) will benefit from this subsidy, with a cumulative amount of overdue loans of between N$1.1 billion to N$1.2 billion.
Acute food insecurity
Meanwhile, the Office of the Prime Minister has released its drought situation report for June, which indicated that around 1.4 million Namibians (48%) will face acute food insecurity between this month and September. A total of 1 835 cases of starvation were reported, it read.
The drought-relief programme is estimated to cost the government more than N$1.3 billion.
"A total of 341 855 households will fall under the drought aid programme, of which 33 105 are marginalised Namibians," the report found.
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This will be in the form of installment relief and a waiver of penalty interest for its customers. According to the bank’s CEO, Dr Raphael Karuaihe, the first intervention - the installment relief - is limited to Agribank customers with agricultural land and multi-loan accounts. "The installment relief targets customers who are in good standing and whose installments are due from 1 April to 31 March 2025. Customers who fell into arrears between 1 April 2023 and 31 March 2024 will also be considered,” he said.
“Accounts of eligible customers will be credited in full as and when installments are due, and delinquent accounts will be credited with immediate effect. The total commitment for this intervention is N$104.6 million.”
Challenging times
According to him, the second intervention involves Agribank waiving penalty interest amounting to approximately N$83 million for this financial year for all its customers who are in arrears.
"We are facing challenging times for both our customers and the bank. We want both to survive, and we are trying to balance many considerations to ensure that our customers are given some leeway to get through this difficult period,” Karuaihe said.
Most of the customers on Agribank's loan book - about 80% - are livestock farmers in communal agricultural areas.
According to the bank, 1 134 of its 2 634 customers (43%) will benefit from this subsidy, with a cumulative amount of overdue loans of between N$1.1 billion to N$1.2 billion.
Acute food insecurity
Meanwhile, the Office of the Prime Minister has released its drought situation report for June, which indicated that around 1.4 million Namibians (48%) will face acute food insecurity between this month and September. A total of 1 835 cases of starvation were reported, it read.
The drought-relief programme is estimated to cost the government more than N$1.3 billion.
"A total of 341 855 households will fall under the drought aid programme, of which 33 105 are marginalised Namibians," the report found.
- [email protected]
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