WINDHOEK – The Managing Director of AgriBank, Ambassador Leonard Iipumbu, has indicated after talks with the Namibia Agricutlural Union (NAU) that they are again ready to assist farmers financially due to the drought.
According to Iipumbu the administrative processes are already in place and can be started as soon as the government declares a drought situ in the country at the end of April. He indicates that discussions for the subsidisation of loans for de-bushing will also be taken up with the government again. Even though AgriBank at this stage have loans available for de-bushing, it is at a commercial rate which makes it difficult for producers to re-pay. Should the government however be willing to subsidise, AgriBank will make these loans available at 5%. This point will again be discussed with the Ministry of Agriculture, Water and Forestry (MAWF) as soon as possible once there is certainty about the future of the permanent secretary of this ministry.
A third point which was discussed is the possible subsidisation of the replacement of jackal-proof fence for the combating of jackals in the South. The current jackal-proof fences are about 50 years old and cannot be repaired properly. Even though Iipumbu was sympathetic about this, it seems that it cannot be executed at this stage, unless the government would agree to subsidise the interest rates.