After several weeks of speculation and growing anxiety among farmers, Land Bank has finally confirmed what many had feared: its Blended Finance Scheme (BFS) has been temporarily paused because the grant allocation for the current financial year has been fully committed.
By Lebogang Mashala, editor at African Farming
For the past few weeks, I have received numerous enquiries from farmers hoping I could help provide clarity on questions they have struggled to get answered.
Most are grain farmers preparing for the summer planting season. Some have already been approved for blended finance and were waiting for their funds to be disbursed. Others were waiting for clarity on their applications.
Instead, many have been left in the dark.
That uncertainty has created considerable anxiety among farmers who have already made production plans and financial commitments based on the expectation that their funding would be available.
Also read: Farmers left stranded as Land Bank pauses Blended Finance Scheme – with planting season days away
Some sort of clarity
Land Bank has now provided some clarity.
In a statement, the bank confirmed it has temporarily paused new BFS applications after the full R325 million grant allocation provided by the Department of Agriculture for the 2026/2027 financial year was committed to applications received to date.
The bank said the decision followed exceptionally strong demand for the scheme, which has expanded access to affordable agricultural finance for qualifying farmers and supported transformation, investment and growth in South Africa’s agricultural sector.
Since the launch of the BFS in 2022/2023, approximately 540 clients had been supported by the end of the 2025/2026 financial year, according to the bank.
That is significant progress. But while the announcement explains why new applications have been paused, it does not adequately answer the questions facing farmers who have already been approved or are waiting for their funding.
And these questions cannot be ignored.
Also read: Parliament sounds alarm over Land Bank Blended Finance Scheme funding gap
The planting window is closing
AFASA Grains has raised serious concerns about the timing of the funding interruption, particularly with the summer planting season approaching.
Farmers have already prepared production plans and, in many cases, incurred costs in anticipation of receiving finance.
How are affected farmers expected to secure seed, fertiliser, chemicals, diesel and other essential inputs at such short notice?
How will they service existing loans if they cannot plant and generate income? How will they protect their credit records and remain eligible for future agricultural finance?
And what happens to the national objective of commercialising black grain farmers if approved or pending applications cannot be funded when the money is needed?
These are not theoretical questions. They have immediate consequences for farmers and their businesses.
Farmers have already made commitments
What concerns me particularly are reports from farmers who have already taken on additional credit to purchase machinery and prepare for the production season, based on the expectation that their blended finance would subsequently be disbursed.
They are now potentially caught between two financial commitments.
On the one hand, they need to finance production. On the other, they have loans to service.
If the blended finance they were counting on does not arrive, how are they expected to meet those obligations?
A farmer cannot simply press pause on production and wait for the next financial year. Planting is dictated by weather, soil conditions and agronomic windows; not funding cycles.
Once the planting window closes, it closes.
Also read: Beyond the ‘No Land Bank buyers’ debate
What happens to transformation?
The Blended Finance Scheme was designed, among other things, to help address one of the biggest barriers facing emerging and black commercial farmers: access to affordable finance.
For farmers trying to build sustainable commercial businesses, access to finance at the right time can make the difference between a successful season and a failed one.
If farmers who have been approved for funding cannot access that funding when they need it, we risk undermining some of the progress the programme was intended to support.
This is not only about individual farmers.
It is about jobs, rural economies, food production and the long-term transformation of South Africa’s agricultural sector.
Also read: Land Bank defends Blended Finance Scheme as demand outstrips funding
We need intervention now
Land Bank has now broken its silence, and that is welcome. But the announcement is only the beginning.
Farmers need clear answers about the status of their applications, particularly those already approved and waiting for disbursement.
They also need to know whether there is a plan to ensure farmers who made production commitments based on approved funding are not left stranded.
I hope the Minister of Finance, the Minister of Agriculture and Land Bank are already engaging urgently to find a practical solution.
If additional funding is required, it needs to be considered. If interim financing arrangements are possible, they need to be explored. And if administrative obstacles are delaying disbursements, they need to be resolved without delay.
Agriculture cannot simply be postponed until the next funding cycle.
Once the planting window has passed, the season is lost. And with it goes the income farmers need to repay loans, pay workers, buy inputs and keep their businesses operating.
The farmers who have contacted me are not asking for special treatment. They are asking for certainty.
They need to know whether the funding they were approved for will reach them – and, if not, what alternative arrangements will be put in place.
Land Bank has provided an explanation for the pause. Now we need action to ensure farmers who planned their season around this funding are not the ones who ultimately pay the price.
This is a serious matter that requires real-time intervention. Our farmers cannot afford to wait.
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