FAST FACTS
Many South Africans have forgotten the influential role that the Land Bank played in South Africa, say Johann Kirsten and Wandile Sihlobo.
Critical mistakes have been made in the management of the Land Bank over the past 25 years. These need to be corrected.
As a result of these mistakes, the bank has been largely unable to achieve its development mandate.
It is disheartening to see how many South Africans have forgotten the simple and influential role that the Land and Agricultural Development Bank (the Land Bank) once played in South African agriculture.
Former minister of agriculture Derek Hanekom summarised this role neatly in his foreword to the bank's 1997 annual report:
The Land Bank was a conduit for cheap money for mortgage finance for farmers,