Micro Agricultural Funding Institution of South Africa – Summary

Micro Agricultural Financial Institutions of South Africa (MAFISA) 1 Introduction The Micro Agricultural Financial Institutions of South Africa (MAFISA) programme was launched as a pilot project in three provinces in 2004/05. Its goal was to provide small, short- and medium-term loans to small-scale farmers to expand production, particularly in communal land areas and on smallholdings with a variety of tenure systems. MAFISA’s approach was to channel funds appropriated to the Department of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries (DAFF) through the Land Bank to established financial intermediaries who would make loans of up to R500 000 to farmers.