Staff Reporter
THE Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries, Water and Land Reform has extended the deadline for farmers and other eligible applicants to apply for agricultural equipment to 16 October 2026, while N$40 million has been made available to increase the purchase of grain from farmers through the Agro-Marketing and Trade Agency (AMTA).
Acting Executive Director for Vote 37 in the Ministry, Petrus-Canisius Nangolo, announced the extension, saying the initial deadline had been extended following requests from the public for more time to apply.
The agricultural equipment programme was initially scheduled to close on 31 September 2026.
Nangolo encouraged interested applicants across all 14 regions to submit their applications as soon as possible so that successful farmers can acquire the equipment in time for the upcoming cropping season.
He said the extension was intended to give applicants sufficient time to complete the process.
Nangolo also announced that Government, through the Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries, Water and Land Reform and the Ministry of Finance, had made N$40 million available to increase the uptake of grain harvested during the previous cropping season.
He said the funding was aimed particularly at subsistence, small-scale and medium-scale farmers, many of whom are grain producers.
Nangolo said farmers had raised concerns that the uptake of grain from the previous cropping season had been low, adding that the funding would help increase the amount of produce purchased through AMTA.
“It seems that this information is not cascaded to the producers or the farmers. Therefore, we are informing our farmers that they need to approach AMTA to make sure that they sell their produce,” Nangolo said.
He urged farmers and AMTA to work together to ensure the available N$40 million is utilised and that grain does not go to waste or spoil while remaining in farmers’ possession.
“We do not have time to waste,” he said, urging farmers to make use of the opportunity to sell their grain to AMTA.
Photo: Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries, Water & Land Reform
