Rabobank has announced a range of support measures that will be offered to its farming clients adversely impacted by floods and extreme rainfall in the Gympie region.
Rabobank regional manager for southern Queensland and northern New South Wales Brad James said while events were still unfolding down south and the full affects of the floods and prolonged heavy rainfall on agriculture would not be known for some time, impacted producers will be dealing with damage to pasture, crops, livestock and infrastructure, including sheds and fencing.
Mr James said “it is very early days”, with flood water in some of those impacted districts still peaking.
“The current focus is on the safety and wellbeing of people in affected regions and concerns about loss of homes and businesses. As people begin to embark on the enormous task of recovering and rebuilding from the devastating floods in coming weeks, the full extent of damage will become more apparent,” he said.
For agriculture, Mr James said, there would be considerable concern among producers regarding the loss of pasture, crops and topsoil as well as the impact on livestock and damage to stored inputs.
Other potential issues include damage, or loss of access, to road networks and uncertainty about replacement of damaged machinery, with the current supply chain delays.
“This flood disaster is among the worst in recent history in these regions and agriculture has undoubtedly borne part of the brunt of the damage. However, I would like to reassure affected clients that, as a bank which has a single focus on agriculture, we consider it a normal part of our business to work with farmers who are affected by weather conditions, even extreme weather events such as these,” he said.
Mr James said Rabobank’s staff would be contacting farming clients in impacted areas to offer support and assess the extent of any damage they have sustained.
He said the bank would work directly with individual clients whose farms or agribusinesses had been affected to provide support and offer a range of assistance measures in applicable circumstances.
These included:
· deferral of scheduled loan payments,
· waiver of break costs on early redemption of farm management deposits,
· waiver of fees on loan increases necessary for rebuilding operations and
· waiver of fees for equipment finance contract variations.
Any farming clients who had been adversely impacted by the floods and had not yet spoken to the bank should contact their local branch or phone Rabobank on 1800 025 484.
