02 Nov 2021

A total investment in agriculture for the southern part of the country, including the Ngwaketse Region over the past 10 years, is P787 million. 

Answering questions at Ntlo Ya Dikgosi on Friday, local government and rural development assistant minister, Mr Mabuse Pule said out of 4 565 loan applications, 4 385 were approved while 180 were rejected.

“The most common reason for rejection of projects is non-viability of the projects. Other reasons for rejections were varied such as lack of security and contribution, unfavourable credit record and inadequate information to support their business proposals,” Mr Pule said.

He also told dikgosi that the National Development Bank (NDB) introduced an Agribusiness Stimulus Fund in 2020 aimed at  supporting  businesses in the agricultural sector with a  budget of  P50 million. 

‘The fund was intended to mitigate agri-businesses against the effects of COVID-19 challenges. It should be noted that the fund does not have 10 years of existence but only over a year since inception,’ he said. 

To date, he added, NDB had received a total of 46 applications amounting to P69 million, out of which 20 were approved at a value of P40 million, while 26 valuing P29 million were rejected for the same reasons mentioned earlier. 

Kgosi James Khumanego of Ngwaketse West Region had asked the Minister of Finance and Economic Development to give an update on the number of applications received for funding by NDB, under the Agribusiness Stimulus Fund in the past 10 years in Ngwaketse West.

He also wanted to know the number of applications that were approved and those rejected as well as reasons for rejection. ENDS