AFC will not waive loans advanced to farmers, Bett

The Agricultural Finance Corporation has announced that it will not waive loans owed by farmers.

The AFC board chairman, Franklin Bett, said the agency and the national government had agreed to stop waiving loans so that the corporation could recover enough money to help other farmers.

Bett warned defaulters to brace themselves for stiffer penalties.

“We have agreed there be will be no waivers anymore. Anybody who wants financial aid from us must be ready to pay back so that other Kenyans can benefit,” Bett said.

At the same time, the official warned farmers to watch out for he said were fraudulently collecting money from farmers, claiming they were AFC officials.

Lost millions

“Many people have lost millions of shillings to con men impersonating our officials. All financial transactions with the corporation should be done through official bank accounts. Farmers should be careful so they don’t fall prey to con men,” he told farmers.

Bett was speaking at Sabata KAG Church in Kiminini sub-county when he distributed title deeds to more than 500 squatters. The processing of the documents was funded by AFC.

The land on which the squatters live initially belonged to a resident who used a loan from AFC to buy it from a white settler However, the corporation took over the property when the man failed to clear the loan.

By then, the squatters had already settled on the land. Instead of kicking them out, AFC decided to allocate them the land and even helped them to acquire title deeds.

The corporation is seeking to recover at least Sh9.1 million from the squatters.

Each squatter is expected to pay back at least Sh100, 000 per acre of land.

Squatters at Sabata, Makhonge, Ndelema, and Weiyeta farms in Kiminini constituency, who had cleared their loans, got land titles.

The Trans Nzoia lands executive, Susan Murumba, helped to distribute the title deeds.

“The squatters can now use the land to acquire loans to improve their livelihoods now that they legally own it.