Namibia - First Line of Credit to Agribank

This project is a first Line of Credit to Agricultural Bank of Namibia (Agribank) and amounting South African Rand (ZAR) 60 million. The project intends to provide support to Namibia’s efforts to correct the historical injustices arising from agricultural land ownership and to supplement these efforts with the provision of the necessary means to the new land owners to economically exploit their holdings. It is designed within the policy framework of the country’s agricultural development strategy, which has as its main objectives; i) reducing imbalances in commercial farm land ownership; ii) increasing crop and livestock production at national and household levels in a sustainable manner; and iii) raising the volume and gross value of agricultural exports. The principal components of the projects (LOC I) comprises of the following: (i) Sub projects for Implementation under the Lines of Credit; (ii) Disbursement of Proceeds of Lines of Credit; (iii) Project Implementation and management capacity of Agribank; (iv) Operational and financial performance of Agribank; (v) Affirmative Action Loans Scheme; (vi) Support for agrarian reform; and (vii) training of emerging farmers in farming skills and management by a capacity building consulting firm-Agrifutura. This operation will be executed in one year.