Agro-Energy fund for farmers of South Africa

NORTH WEST – Agriculture minister Thoko Didiza says a R2.5 billion “agro-energy fund” will be created by the land bank, allowing farmers to apply for funding in alternative energy sources. The fund said that farmers will be able to receive grant funding between R500,000 and R1.5 million depending on the scale of their farm’s operations. Didiza said that the fund will focus on energy-intensive agricultural activities, such as irrigation, exhaustive agricultural production systems and cold-chain logistics activities.