Green Master Vegetables Business Plan — Funding

R1.95m founder equity, a R3.50m targeted Blended Finance grant and R9.50m of production, asset and Land Bank finance.

Funding

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11.1 Sources and applications
11.2 Use of funds
11.3 Year 1 capital
11.4 Year 2 capital
11.5 Year 3 capital
11.6 Year 4 capital
11.7 Year 5 capital
11.8 Debt and cover

Instrument	What it provides	How to approach it
Blended Finance Scheme (DALRRD and Land Bank)	Conditional grant with a loan. Smallholders may receive up to 60% of the blended amount as non-repayable grant. Covers infrastructure, production inputs and working capital. Requires at least 20 of 50 points on DALRRD’s Economic Benefits Criteria scorecard.	Through Land Bank, the IDC or a participating commercial bank. The grant cannot be approved standalone.
Production credit facility	Seasonal input finance. A crop is fully funded before a single case is sold.	Land Bank or an agricultural lender, secured on the crop and the offtake.
Equipment and asset finance	Tractor, vehicle, implements.	Secured on the asset and available early, before a trading history exists.
Land Bank expansion facilities	Later-stage expansion once production history exists.	Requires two to three years of records.
CASP and provincial support	Infrastructure and input support for emerging farmers. Irrigation and packhouses are typical qualifying items.	Provincial Department of Agriculture. Long timelines; start a year ahead.

A warning about the Blended Finance Scheme

In June 2026 Parliament’s Portfolio Committee on Agriculture reported that the scheme requires roughly R1.5 billion a year but was allocated only R613 million for 2026/27, and that Land Bank had over-committed available funds. Government has separately reported R9.8 billion approved for 627 black commercial producers in partnership with the IDC, Land Bank and ABSA, and the 2026/27 Department of Agriculture budget of R7.84 billion includes R3.28 billion for food security and farmer support, so the instrument is real and substantial, but heavily oversubscribed. This plan depends on it for R3.50 million, and Section 19 shows that without it the founder’s five-year return falls from 17.1 per cent to minus 16.4 per cent. Apply a full year ahead, apply through more than one participating institution, and hold a commercial fallback. Be prepared to hold the planted area rather than over-borrow.

11.1 Sources and applications

Source	R’000	Share	Character
Founder equity	1 950	13.0%	At inception; the credibility test for every subsequent application
Blended Finance grant	3 500	23.4%	Non-repayable; competitive and not committed
Loans and facilities	9 495	63.5%	Production credit, asset finance and Land Bank facilities
Total funding raised	14 945	100.0%	Against R12 805k of capital deployed

R’000	Year 1	Year 2	Year 3	Year 4	Year 5	Total
Founder equity	1 950	—	—	—	—	1 950
Grants received	1 400	—	2 100	—	—	3 500
Loans and facilities drawn	1 590	2 585	2 020	1 900	1 400	9 495
Total funding drawn	4 940	2 585	4 120	1 900	1 400	14 945
Capital deployed	(4 010)	(1 345)	(2 560)	(2 390)	(2 500)	(12 805)

Total funding of R14.95 million exceeds capital deployed of R12.81 million by R2.14 million. That difference is not a surplus: it funds the operating deficit across Years 1 to 3, during which EBITDA is negative or minimal while the farm is established, and it services the interest on the debt that funds it.

11.2 Use of funds

11.3 Year 1 capital

Item	R’000	Treatment	Share of year
Water: borehole, pump, storage dam lining and mainline	780	Capitalised and depreciated	19.5%
Drip irrigation, 8 hectares	520	Capitalised and depreciated	13.0%
Two multi-span tunnels, 1.5 hectares	690	Capitalised and depreciated	17.2%
Tractor, trailer and basic implements	620	Capitalised and depreciated	15.5%
Packhouse: shade structure, tables, grading and cold room	465	Capitalised and depreciated	11.6%
Fencing and farm security	185	Capitalised and depreciated	4.6%
Bakkie	265	Capitalised and depreciated	6.6%
Water use authorisation, soil analysis and professional fees	145	Capitalised and depreciated	3.6%
Opening inputs and pre-production working capital	340	Working capital	8.5%
Total Year 1	4 010		100.0%

11.4 Year 2 capital

Item	R’000	Treatment	Share of year
Drip irrigation extension	340	Capitalised and depreciated	25.3%
Additional tunnels, 1 hectare	480	Capitalised and depreciated	35.7%
Implements and sprayer	285	Capitalised and depreciated	21.2%
Working capital	240	Working capital	17.8%
Total Year 2	1 345		100.0%

11.5 Year 3 capital

Item	R’000	Treatment	Share of year
Irrigation extension and pump upgrade	520	Capitalised and depreciated	20.3%
Tunnels, 1.5 hectares	720	Capitalised and depreciated	28.1%
Cold room expansion and packhouse upgrade	420	Capitalised and depreciated	16.4%
Second tractor	580	Capitalised and depreciated	22.7%
Working capital	320	Working capital	12.5%
Total Year 3	2 560		100.0%

11.6 Year 4 capital

Item	R’000	Treatment	Share of year
Irrigation extension	610	Capitalised and depreciated	25.5%
Tunnels, 1.5 hectares	760	Capitalised and depreciated	31.8%
Refrigerated delivery vehicle	640	Capitalised and depreciated	26.8%
Working capital	380	Working capital	15.9%
Total Year 4	2 390		100.0%

11.7 Year 5 capital

Item	R’000	Treatment	Share of year
Irrigation extension and water storage	720	Capitalised and depreciated	28.8%
Tunnels, 1.5 hectares	800	Capitalised and depreciated	32.0%
Packhouse automation and cold chain	560	Capitalised and depreciated	22.4%
Working capital	420	Working capital	16.8%
Total Year 5	2 500		100.0%

11.8 Debt and cover

Figure 15. Debt against owner's funds, with cover.

R’000	Year 1	Year 2	Year 3	Year 4	Year 5
Loans drawn in the year	1 590	2 585	2 020	1 900	1 400
Interest	82	300	485	582	659
Capital repaid	—	249	676	878	1 116
Total debt service	82	549	1 161	1 460	1 775
Loans outstanding	1 590	3 926	5 270	6 292	6 576
Owner’s funds	2 537	1 357	2 628	2 712	4 296
Gearing, debt to debt plus equity	38.5%	74.3%	66.7%	69.9%	60.5%
EBITDA	(390)	(425)	329	1 542	3 421
Debt service cover	n/m	n/m	0.28x	1.06x	1.93x

Cover is not meaningful in Years 1 and 2 because EBITDA is negative. It is 0.28 times in Year 3, 1.06 in Year 4 and 1.93 in Year 5, clearing the 1.30 times gate in the final year. Debt service is met from further drawings and from the grant until Year 4, which is the honest position for a farm establishing capacity ahead of the volume that pays for it. Gearing peaks at 74.4 per cent in Year 2, the point at which accumulated losses have eroded owner’s funds to R1.36 million against R3.93 million of debt, and falls to 60.5 per cent by Year 5.

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