Dare to Care exceeds target
The Dare to Care Fund at the end of last month exceeded its target of raising N$10 million to assist drought-stricken farmers across the country.
The fund was established by members of the farming sector in the year 2000 to provide assistance to victims of veld fires.
With Namibia facing a national crisis because of the drought that has gripped the country since 2013, the entire agricultural sector, including the Namibia Emerging Commercial Farmers Union (NECFU), Namibia Agricultural Union (NAU) and the private sector, decided to join hands under the Dare to Care umbrella to help farmers survive the drought.
The assistance is extended to communal, emerging commercial and commercial farmers across the country. According to the Namibia Agricultural Union the fund set an ambitious target to collect N$10 million by the end of March.
The goal was to provide a subsidy of N$50 per bag of animal feed in order to help farmers to fatten livestock for the market, while also assisting them to maintain their core breeding herds.
This subsidy was offered at all branches of agricultural retail outlets such as Kaap Agri and Agra.
The management of the fund appointed SGA Chartered Accountants and Auditors to audit the fund and ensure accountability.
After a N$200 000 donation by the Capricorn Group and Capricorn Asset Management on 25 November, the fund exceeded the target of N$10 million and it now stands at N$10 046 765.
“We would like to thank all the donors - those who gave more than N$1 million and those who gave N$10. We also would like to thank everybody who did fundraising actions to collect money for the fund. You all made this happen and with all the assistance, the fund was able to subsidise over 200 000 bags of feed,” the NAU said.
The NAU appointed additional personnel, at its own cost, to process all claims, which meant that more than 99% of all donated money was available for direct drought assistance to farmers.
“Although our aim of N$10 million has been achieved, the intensifying drought is continuing and the need of producers is increasing. We therefore urge anybody who wishes to make a contribution, however little it may be, to contact us,” the union said.
STAFF REPORTER
The fund was established by members of the farming sector in the year 2000 to provide assistance to victims of veld fires.
With Namibia facing a national crisis because of the drought that has gripped the country since 2013, the entire agricultural sector, including the Namibia Emerging Commercial Farmers Union (NECFU), Namibia Agricultural Union (NAU) and the private sector, decided to join hands under the Dare to Care umbrella to help farmers survive the drought.
The assistance is extended to communal, emerging commercial and commercial farmers across the country. According to the Namibia Agricultural Union the fund set an ambitious target to collect N$10 million by the end of March.
The goal was to provide a subsidy of N$50 per bag of animal feed in order to help farmers to fatten livestock for the market, while also assisting them to maintain their core breeding herds.
This subsidy was offered at all branches of agricultural retail outlets such as Kaap Agri and Agra.
The management of the fund appointed SGA Chartered Accountants and Auditors to audit the fund and ensure accountability.
After a N$200 000 donation by the Capricorn Group and Capricorn Asset Management on 25 November, the fund exceeded the target of N$10 million and it now stands at N$10 046 765.
“We would like to thank all the donors - those who gave more than N$1 million and those who gave N$10. We also would like to thank everybody who did fundraising actions to collect money for the fund. You all made this happen and with all the assistance, the fund was able to subsidise over 200 000 bags of feed,” the NAU said.
The NAU appointed additional personnel, at its own cost, to process all claims, which meant that more than 99% of all donated money was available for direct drought assistance to farmers.
“Although our aim of N$10 million has been achieved, the intensifying drought is continuing and the need of producers is increasing. We therefore urge anybody who wishes to make a contribution, however little it may be, to contact us,” the union said.
STAFF REPORTER
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