By EPN Reporter
MBABANE – The NMC-YERF Funding Project for Youth Farmers has generated interest from members of the public, who wish to benefit from the programme.
However, some of the people who wish to benefit from the programme cannot because they are now above 35 years of age. One of the requirements for Emaswati to benefit from this programme is that they should not be over 35 years.
The National Maize Corporation (NMC), Youth Enterprise Revolving Fund (YERF), and the Ministry of Agriculture have all posted on their various Facebook pages. They are inviting the youth to apply for this programme so that they can benefit. They can apply for funding of up to E200 000 to start their agricultural businesses.
One Facebooker claimed to be 45 years of age, but had the land that was required to benefit under this programme. Another Facebooker claimed to be over 35 years of age, but wished to benefit from this programme so that he/she could get help from NMC. She/he claimed to know where to get funding. One claimed to be 35 years now and would be turning 36 next month and he did not know if he could still be assisted.
Some complained that they did not even have the land they could use under this programme and it was difficult to secure this factor of production. Some were concerned about the timing. They said they were worried that the money could be disbursed in April for the beneficiaries, yet that was not a good time for growing beans.
Even though others had their concerns, it must be noted that there are some prospective farmers who were interested in this project. They did not have much excuses or any sort of complaints, they just wanted to apply and be part of the whole programme.
On Monday, this publication reported that the influx of application for the funding project for youth farmers has made the NMC and YERF to extend the deadline to February 28, 2024. The youth farmers had been invited to apply for funding so that they could embark on their farming projects. For now, youth farmers spcialising in maize and beans have been invited to apply by the two public enterprises.
This means that the farmers interested in this initiative still stand a chance of applying. According to YERF Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Mandla Nkambule, many farmers have shown interest in being part of the programme and have since filed their application forms to YERF.
Nkambule said because of that, they felt it was necessary for them to extend the application. Initially, there were 11 farmers who had applied under this initiative. Lubombo Region has the most applicants, as eight of them are from that region. The other regions have one applicant each.
At the time of writing this report, a total of 20 farmers had shown interest in being included in this programme. Shiselweni and Hhohho Regions have eight of the applicants each, while Lubombo Region has six. There was no interested applicant from Manzini at the time of writing this report. The application forms of the 20 farmers are still in the process of being finalised by YERF.
All loans under this programme shall be towards assisting youth farmers with working capital. This shall include all or part of the production costs, as guided by gross margins. To be eligible for this programme, the applicants should be Emaswati between the ages of 18 and 35.
The applicants are also required to have a good credit history and also be contracted with the NMC. The applicants are also required to have at least one hector or more for beans. They are also required to have three hectors or more, if they decide to do maize farming. Loan application can be obtained from YERF offices, all constituencies, YERF website, NMC website, depot and Rural Development Areas (RDAs).
