Agribank has announced a new Arrears Relief Rollout Programme aimed at assisting farmers who struggle with loan repayments.

The Chief Executive Officer, Raphael Karuaihe, said the agricultural bank introduced the initiative to help farmers who face the challenges of climate change and global economic conditions.

Given the increasing challenges posed by a myriad of factors, such as climate change, global economic conditions, and lack of market access, some farming businesses continue to perform poorly and are in distressed conditions.

Dr. Karuaihe stated there are quite a number of Namibian clients who go out of their way to honour their repayment.

"The weather is changing constantly. We are being bombarded with droughts that were never there before or that were not as frequent. and one can look at the number of other volatilities in the market."

However, farmers, especially those with financial commitments towards financial institutions such as Agribank, struggle to repay their loans when they become due.

"Well, the ideal situation would have been to have an insurance product available in the agricultural sector, for example. Unfortunately, due to the high risk associated with the agricultural sector, we do not offer insurance products to our clients that would help sustain farmers in the event of a crop failure or similar issues."

This programme has been launched to provide financial relief to farmers affected by these challenges, such as drought.

Agribank is a government-owned institution established through an act of Parliament.