Farmers affected by the drought will not pay back loans

Reuben Mtolo, Agricultural Minister, has announced that farmers who accessed loans under the Sustainable Agricultural Finance Facility (SAFF) and are suffering the impacts of the drought will not have to repay their loans.

He made the announcement to members of Parliament after he gave a ministerial statement on the crop forecast survey for the 2023-2024 farming season.

The crop forecast survey provides the government with estimates of crop production statistics for the agricultural season of each year from 1st October to the 30th September the following year.

The minister said that further loans for agriculture are to be issued from next week.

When Mr. Mtolo announced the SAFF in a ministerial statement in November 2023, he clarified that the loans would be “issued in the form of farming inputs through local agro-deal network, to small and medium scale farmers.” He stated that “the loans shall attract a 12 per cent interest with the repayment in cash expected after harvest that is at the end of the farming season.”

However, Zambia’s agricultural yields have been drastically hit by the prolonged effects of the drought and the government has needed to amend the loan agreements accordingly.

Mr. Mtolo observed that the numbers of farmers benefitting from SAFF will continue to increase each year, and eligible farmers must go to the banks and indicate that they have been affected by the drought for verification.