ARTICLE
AGRICULTURAL CREDIT
A few facts from the past
1939 - 2018
BETWEEN 1939 AND 2018 THE EXTENT
OF CREDIT FOR SUMMER CROPS WAS
AS FOLLOWS:
1939: Summer crops £ 400 000
1955: Summer crops £ 10 000 000
2018: R1.8 billion
1944
The Maize Board implemented a single
channel marketing system.
1950
Sentraboer is established to insure the
crops and assets of farmers.
1969
Sentraboer provides a comprehensive
crop insurance service to farmers.
1984 - 1989
The government subsidises interest rates.
1991
Government withdraws from the state
guarantee scheme and farmers are com-
pensated at R375 per hectare. No further
government assistance is rendered.
1991 - 1995
Farmers apply for section 21 (settlements)
at the former LKG-board.
1995 -1997
Maize Board is dissolved and the free
market system comes into being.
1995 - 2010
Role players such as Verus farms,
Farmsecure, Free State Maize, etcetera,
access the extension of production credit
market. These role players have already
left the agricultural market.
1997
Senwes becomes a company and mem-
bers' funds are converted to shares.
2001 - 2002
Senwes' credit policy is revised and
rewritten.
2000 - 2003
Cleaning-up of credit policy is done.
2003 - 2005
he Credit Act is implemented in 2005, as
well as FICA legislation in 2003.
2006
The relationship model is rolled out. Key
account managers are appointed to ser-
vice clients on an individual level.
Senwes Asset Finance, a joint venture
with Wesbank, is established.
The geographic area of Senwes Credit is
expanded into Hertzogville and
2007-2008
Term loans become part of the value
proposition of Senwes Credit.
2016 - 2017
A change of focus takes place to the pro-
vision of an integrated financing solution
for clients.
2018
Senwes Credit expands into the Eastern
Cape.
Source: Time cultivates winners. Senwes - A century of agriculture by Elize S van Eeden
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SENWES SCENARIO | AUTUMN 2019