The government is stepping up efforts to improve farmers’ access to machinery ahead of the 2026/27 cropping season, extending applications for subsidised agricultural equipment while allocating N$8 million to return hundreds of tractors to service.
The Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries, Water and Land Reform has extended the deadline for eligible farmers and other applicants to apply for subsidised agricultural machinery and equipment to 16 October 2026.
The extension follows what the ministry described as an overwhelming number of requests from applicants who said they needed more time to complete the process.
Acting Executive Director Petrus Canisius Nangolo said the ministry wants to ensure successful applicants receive their equipment in time for the upcoming cropping season.
“While the process is underway, we have received an overwhelming number of requests that the timeframe is too short,” Nangolo said.
“We have agreed to extend the deadline to give people enough time. The new date by which this process is expected to be completed is 16 October 2026.”
The subsidised equipment includes walking tractors and associated implements, hand-operated seedling transplanters, jab seed drills, weeding cultivators and knapsack sprayers.
Diesel chipper hammer mills, veterinary cold-chain and drug kits, and animal weighing scales are also being made available.
Applications are being processed through ministry offices across all 14 regions, as well as regional councils and constituency offices.
Alongside the equipment programme, the ministry has identified 508 tractors for servicing and repairs as it prepares for the rain-fed cropping season, which runs from 1 October 2026 to 31 March 2027.
Of the tractors identified, 385 require minor servicing and 112 require major repairs.
The ministry has allocated approximately N$8 million to cover service parts, major repairs, fuel, transport and other logistical requirements.
Repairs will be undertaken by ministry-employed diesel mechanics at Agricultural Development Centres, while major repairs will, where necessary, be handled at the Agricultural Technology Centres in Ongwediva and Rundu.
The programme will also employ 15 qualified graduate artisans on one-year contracts and attach 45 vocational training trainees as assistant artisans.
The interventions are aimed at increasing the availability of agricultural machinery as farmers prepare for the new production season.
