South Africa's Land and Agricultural Development Bank has stopped taking new applications for its blended finance scheme for the rest of the 2026/27 financial year because grant funding for the year is fully committed, Food For Mzansi reports.

The scheme combines a repayable Land Bank loan with a non-repayable grant from the department of agriculture, lowering the overall cost of finance for qualifying farmers. It is aimed mainly at historically disadvantaged producers. Since its launch in 2022/23 it had supported about 540 clients and beneficiaries by the end of 2025/26, and demand has far exceeded the department's annual grant of R325 million.

The remaining 2026/27 grant money will go to facilities already contracted. Applications already in the pipeline without a committed grant will be assessed one by one, and some may be offered a 100% repayable loan instead. The bank stressed the scheme has not been discontinued and expects to reopen it when a further R325 million allocation arrives for 2027/28; it is also talking to the department, National Treasury and other funders about more grant and concessional money.

The pause does not affect the bank's other lending, including mortgage loans for farmland, revolving credit for working capital, instalment finance for machinery, term loans and structured finance.

"The temporary pause in new applications is a responsible measure to ensure that further grant-supported commitments are aligned with the grant resources available to the scheme," said acting chief executive Jabu Mphambo, adding that the strong demand shows the role affordable finance can play in broadening participation in agriculture.

Source: Food for Mzansi