ONE in five SA farmers is expected to leave the industry in the next decade, a new study reveals.
Dr. Kandas Cloete a senior analyst at the Bureau for Food and Agricultural Policy (BFAP), surveyed 450 SA farmers and found third-generation farmers were likely to downsize their farming operations before shutting down completely.
Cloete’s study focused on decisions that producers expecting to exit farming will likely make about land use and occupation over the next 10 years, and how these decisions could affect the agricultural value chain as a whole.
Cloete says producers most likely to leave farming are third-generation, experienced farmers with college or university degrees. This farmer is typically still repaying long-term loans as well as using production loans and other types of debt capital.
Farmers battle to afford credit and secure finance
The massive increase in the cost of agricultural inputs has led to demand for alternative finance, says Sanlie Middelberg, professor in the School of Accounting Sciences at the North-West University.
Farmers often need quick and easy access to credit, especially in unforeseen circumstances, and John Deere Financial recently extended their portfolio to include flexible finance for forestry equipment with a quick and easy credit processes.
