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Farm loans under threat

    JOHANNESBURG

    The Zimbabwe Bankers Association (BAZ) has warned that Zimbabwean financial institutions might not be able to provide financing to commercial farmers in the 2000/2001 season, ‘The Financial Gazette’ said on Thursday.

    BAZ president Greg Brackenridge was quoted as saying that banks were reluctant to commit themselves to financing the needs of commercial farmers “in the face of mounting uncertainty over the future of the agricultural sector”.

    The warning by BAZ has fuelled fears that Zimbabwe could be headed for food shortages, ‘The Financial Gazette’ said. Neil Wright an economist with the Commercial Farmers Union (CFU) told IRIN on Thursday: “This kind of decision will have a major impact on the entire economy. It needs to get resolved soon. Commercial farmers produce about 40 percent of the maize and about 9 percent of the soya beans for Zimbabwe.”

    Meanwhile, CFU deputy director Gerry Grant was quoted as saying that BAZ had written to farmers saying that bankers would not support farmers who were unable to provide evidence of secure tenure for their properties during the coming season.

    This article was produced by IRIN News while it was part of the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs. Please send queries on copyright or liability to the UN. For more information: https://shop.un.org/rights-permissions

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