A R146-million rescue package to bail out cash-strapped farmers at the Land Bank was announced by Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries Minister Tina Joemat-Petterson, the SABC reported on Saturday.

This comes after the Land Bank threatened legal action against more than 500 farmers for failing to repay loans lent to them.

Addressing a National African Farmers Union (Nafu) workshop in Pretoria on Friday night, Joemat-Petterson said the money was not a moratorium on payments but a way to help struggling farmers cope.

Joemat-Petterson clarified that the rescue package was a way to ensure that farmers don't lose their land. - Sapa