15 MAY 2025: Agricultural systems have a central role to play in food security, rural development, and the sustainable management of natural resources. As South Africa assumes leadership of the G20 in 2025, it has a unique opportunity to champion agricultural reforms that promote sustainability throughout the sector.
“The sustainability of South African farms is essential not only for environmental protection, but for securing long-term agricultural yields and, consequently, South Africa’s food security,” explains Gert Breet, Sustainable Agriculture Lead at FNB Commercial. “Sustainability – optimising scarce resources to preserve and enhance value over the long term – has been a cornerstone of agricultural development and is deeply ingrained in the mindset of South African farmers. Nevertheless, further progress remains necessary, which is why a multi-stakeholder approach involving government, farmers, and financial institutions is critically important.”
There is an urgent requirement to align farming practices with environmental imperatives by adopting methods that reduce emissions, minimise pollution of air, water, and soil, and ensure ecosystems can support agricultural production for generations to come. Conservation agriculture practices such as minimum tillage, crop rotation, regenerative farming, and conservation agriculture are designed to reduce environmental impact without unduly compromising productivity.
FNB provides comprehensive financing solutions for farmers, including asset-based finance through Wesbank, long-term financing options, and working capital facilities to support input purchasing. This array of funding solutions assists farmers throughout their long-term sustainability journey. Through Wesbank, farmers can access financing for precision equipment such as advanced sprayers, planters, harvesters and technologies that support sustainable farming methods, while the FNB Sustainable Agriculture Loan supports a diverse range of sustainability, climate adaptation and mitigation activities.
“The sustainability of our farming environment faces mounting pressure that will intensify in the coming decades,” Breet emphasises. “While the most severe impacts may be a generation away, we are committed to promoting sustainable agricultural practices today. Our relationship with farmers is fundamentally collaborative, and we work alongside them as partners in this transition. By providing both support and specialised financing options, we create outcomes that deliver financial benefits to farmers while simultaneously enhancing environmental health. This dual-impact approach generates significant positive ripple effects throughout the agricultural ecosystem and broader community.”
The agriculture industry’s progress is further supported by organisations like Grain SA, which provide guidance and advocacy for sustainable practices. Their support is instrumental in building a more resilient and environmentally responsible agricultural sector in South Africa. Dr Dirk Strydom, Managing Director of Grain SA, emphasized the importance of implementing sustainable practices to enhance environmental stewardship. “Agriculture in South Africa is highly diverse, with significant variability in soil characteristics and climatic conditions. It is essential to implement environmentally sustainable practices that also support economic viability. Adapting to new production systems requires long-term investment, and there is a growing demand for financial products designed to facilitate these transitions,” Strydom says.
FNB launched its Sustainable Agriculture Loan one year ago at NAMPO 2024. Since then, uptake has demonstrated substantial demand for sustainable practices. “The FNB Sustainable Agriculture Loan represents a groundbreaking financial product for FNB, embodying the bank’s tangible delivery on its commitment to supporting agricultural transformation and enhancing its contribution to a more resilient, low-carbon economy,” explains Breet.
The loan aligns closely with FNB’s Statement of Intent on Agriculture, which recognises that adaptation strategies such as regenerative and conservation agriculture, while crucial for climate resilience, often remain inaccessible to many farmers due to constraints in capital and technical knowledge.
The loan facilitates infrastructure development, climate mitigation initiatives, and various other requirements excluding working capital. Eligible investments include solar finance and irrigation systems, protective netting, and other sustainability-focused capital expenditures.
FNB’s support for sustainability initiatives is not exclusive to large commercial operations but apply to all participants in agriculture, including grain farmers of all scales. “We deliberately established comprehensive eligibility criteria for this loan to enable a broad spectrum of farmers and agribusiness entities to benefit from its value-adding features,” Breet notes. “We have streamlined the application process to ensure our clients can rapidly access the funding they need to make meaningful differences in their operations through significant investments in sustainable solutions and practices.”
The FNB Sustainable Agriculture Loan also extends beyond financial assistance. Strategic partnerships and support services are integral components of the loan structure. FNB leverages its nationwide network of agricultural finance experts and relationship managers to help farmers navigate the complexities of sustainable agricultural implementation.
“Our range of financing and business-support solutions demonstrates FNB’s longstanding commitment to provide much more than ‘off-the-shelf’ funding to farmers,” Breet concludes. “Rather, we are investing in a future where farming grows from strength to strength. We aim to make climate-smart farming practices accessible to an increasing number of farmers and facilitate the implementation of best practices across the sector, to the benefit of farmers, the environment and the South African economy.”