Mbabane – The Minister of Agriculture Mandla Tshawuka said the partnership they have signed with Standard Bank Eswatini will address limited and unreliable access to mechanisation which are some of the most persistent structural challenges facing the agriculture sector.
Speaking at the signing ceremony where Standard Bank Eswatini unveiled a E180 million financing deal with the Ministry of Agriculture, Tshawuka said that agriculture is highly time-sensitive, with delays in land preparation and harvesting often resulting in reduced yields and income losses.
Tshawuka said the shortage of machinery had forced farmers to compete for tractors during peak planting periods, causing many to miss critical production windows. He added that the mechanisation drive was central to Eswatini’s food sovereignty agenda, particularly as the country transitions from subsistence farming to more commercial production systems.
The financing model combines public support with private capital to reduce costs and widen access. Under the structure, the Eswatini Agricultural Development Fund provides 15 percent concessional funding, beneficiaries contribute 10 percent as equity, and Standard Bank finances the remaining 75 percent through loans. John Deere has further eased the financing burden by buying down the interest rate to 9.2 percent per annum.
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