SA earmarks R3.9 billion to support national agriculture

South African President Cyril Ramaphosa has outlined the provision of R3.9 billion ($272.5 million) to the country’s agricultural sector that will be used to benefit local commercial farmers.

“We are going to substantially expand the agriculture and agroprocessing sector by supporting key value chains and products, developing new markets and reducing our reliance on agricultural imports,” Ramaphosa said.

“We must be a country that can feed itself and that harnesses the latest advances in smart agriculture.”

The Land Bank has been allocated the funds, the financing coming after the industry saw a drop of 12,000 jobs during Q1 2019 alone.

More specific focuses will be centred around promoting Namibia as a tourist destination and removing bottlenecks that are curbing local economic growth.