Landbank extends P230.23B loans to agri sector as of end-October

State-run lender Land Bank of the Philippines said Friday it has extended P230.23 billion worth of loans to the agriculture sector as of end-October this year.

The amount represents 94% of the bank’s target of P245 billion of loans to be extended to farmers and fishers for 2020.

Of the loan releases of P230.23 billion, about two-thirds  or P145.86 billion went to small, medium, and large agribusinesses enterprises, while the remaining third or P35.66 billion went to small farmers, fisherfolk, and the agri-aqua related projects of local government units (LGUs) and government-owned and controlled corporations (GOCCs) at P48.71 billion, according to Landbank president and CEO Cecilia Borromeo.

In particular, small farmers and fishers borrowed a total of P1.36 billion through direct lending, while loans to conduits such as cooperatives and farmers’ associations, rural financial institutions, and other lending mechanisms amounted to P34.3 billion, Borromeo said.

As of October, Landbank has also provided P8.31 billion in loans through programs it has been administering for the Department of Agriculture (DA), such as the those under Agricultural Competitiveness Enhancement Fund (ACEF), the Socialized Credit Program under the Sugarcane Industry Development Act (SIDA), the Expanded Rice Credit Assistance (ERCA) under the Rice Competitiveness Enhancement Fund (RCEF), and the Survival and Recovery Assistance (SURE-Aid) for rice farmers, she said.

For programs it has been administering for the Department of Agrarian Reform (DAR), the Landbank has provided P65 million as of October.

From 1,300,135 farmers and fishers in April, the Landbank cumulatively increased the number of rural folk it has assisted to 2,502,640  in October, exceeding its two-million target by over half-a-million, Borromeo said in her report. 

Of this number, 716,931 small farmers were assisted through the Rice Farmers Financial Assistance (RFFA) and Financial Subsidy to Rice Farmers (FSRF) programs of the DA.

Through the Landbank Countryside Development Foundation, the institution was also able to train 67,789 farmers in unbanked municipalities to help improve their financial literacy, Borromeo said.

In terms of economic activity, the support to the agriculture sector through loans for the construction of irrigation systems and post-harvest facilities accounted for P99.48 billion or 43% of the P230.23 billion in lending to this sector.

The P74.81 billion extended to finance agri-processing and trading activities; P36.44 billion provided to the livestock subsector, and the  P17.82 billion and P1.68 billion that went to the crops and fisheries subsectors, respectively, complete the breakdown of the  P230.23 billion agriculture loans as of October.—AOL, GMA News