The Agricultural Bank of Namibia (AgriBank) has set aside US$9.1mn as drought relief assistance for farmers in Namibia
The bank said it had noted that farmers in the country were affected by high input costs, increased mortality rate and crop failure.
"The current drought in the country has prompted Agribank to review its recovery strategy and the budget for the 2013/2014 financial year," said Agribank chief executive officer Leonard Iipumbu in a recent statement.
A US$7.6mn budget has been set for the production loans facility option, AgriBank revealed.
"The purpose of this facility is to enable both communal, resettled and commercial farmers to cover day to day costs on production inputs such as seeds, fertilizers, herbicides and pesticides," Iipumbu stated.
The option would be offered at a four per cent rate for commercial farmers, and two per cent for communal and resettled farmers.
"This facility will be for a period of six years. The first year will be capitalised and the remaining balance will be amortized for five years. Clients must have a good repayment record with the bank to qualify for this facility," Iipumbu said.
