AFC ready to fund winter wheat

Sunday Mail Correspondent

AFC Land Bank has advised farmers to submit their funding applications for the forthcoming winter wheat crop season, as the financial institution is fully prepared to support growers this year.

The bank is also encouraging women and youthful farmers to apply for funding.

Last year, AFC contributed to the record 375 000 tonnes winter wheat output, after it leased machinery and bankrolled farmers to produce over 48 000t.

In a statement, the bank’s managing director, Mrs Priscilla Munyeza, said: “We are now ready for the 2023 wheat season and are now calling on farmers to come through with their financing applications. Having surpassed the 10 000ha for the previous season, the AFC Land Bank is working with a wheat production target of 15 000ha during the 2023 season.

“Farmers will be assisted with inputs, working capital support and advisory services to see them through the season,” she said.

Mrs Munyeza said mechanisation services would also be provided to farmers through the bank’s leasing company or the Belarus Mechanisation Facility launched by President Mnangagwa.

“The inputs package comprises mainly seed, chemicals, fertilisers and fuel.

“ The AFC Land Bank has now geared up to support the 2023 winter wheat crop with an aggressive target to surpass its 2022 contribution of over 48 000MT (metric tonnes).

“The AFC Land Bank, a subsidiary of AFC Holdings, is a development finance institution and it focuses on supporting all farmer categories: communal farmers, A1 and A2 resettled farmers, irrigation schemes and farmer groups, commercial entities in farming and contracting companies,” she said.

The bank, said Mrs Munyeza, was targeting to distribute more than 180 tractors for the winter cropping season.

“We have also strategically placed our Land Bank offices in all the 10 provinces in the country for the convenience of our farmers who would like to access finance, hire farming equipment or participate in the Belarus Mechanisation Facility,” she said.

She said they were focused on driving food security, as evidenced by the bank’s support in the last winter wheat season.

“During the 2022 winter wheat season, we funded a circa 10 500ha of wheat and surpassed the set target of 10 000ha and contributed at least 48 771MT of wheat, representing about 14 percent of national wheat production.

“Of this, about 30 300MT were delivered to GMB (Grain Marketing Board) to drive food security, in line with Government expectations, and move the country towards self-sufficiency while the remainder was delivered to private players,” she said.

She added: “We are encouraging youth and female farmers to come through to our offices and enquire on our facilities as we strive to ensure that we leave no one behind in the agricultural transformation agenda.”