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FS cash-strapped farmers appeal to banks for help

The situation is so dire that some farmers want to leave the sector.
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Free State cash-strapped farmers appeal to the commercial banks to relax their loan conditions.

This is to enable them to receive financial assistance.

This emerged during a meeting with the banks and corporate sector at Bultfontein in an effort to find solutions to their dire financial situation.

Almost 15 percent of the farmers are stumbling on the brink of bankruptcy.

Commercial farmers are feeling the effects of the 2016 drought as it’s resulted in withering maize fields. Farmers are also struggling with staggering debt from banks.

Christo Snyman, Chairperson of Sub-Committee Emergency Gathering: “We are here to ask banks, agricultural institutions to help us get finance to plant. This is the main reason, we are here to find solutions not to finger point banks and corporate.”

The situation is so dire that some farmers want to leave the sector.

Farmer Corries Fourier: “It is now our challenge that some of our people who are with us in the farming business look at the rest and are backing out now.”

Farmer Mikel Pretorius: “We are all worried. We are all in financial crisis, we would let go of our workers we can’t go on without them and they need decent salaries.”

The government says programmes are in place to assist farmers.

Senzeni Zokwana, Minister of Agriculture Forestry and Fisheries: “It takes a number of issues, some of the issues may be fact that the depletion of the minerals from the soil due to drought – because after drought sometimes you get floods which causes a number of devastation.”

The farmers expect the banks, corporations and agricultural organisations to offer solutions by the 3rd of October.

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