PhilGuarantee covers P3.5B agri loans in H1 2021

State-run Philippine Guarantee Corp. (PhilGuarantee) said Thursday it has provided guarantees to loans in the agriculture sector amounting to P3.5 billion in the first half of 2021.

The said amount is equivalent to 95% of the state firm’s target of P3.7 billion for the entire year.

In his report to Finance Secretary Carlos Dominguez III, PhilGuarantee president and CEO Alberto Pascual said the loans guaranteed through the firm’s partner-lending institutions (PLIs) have so far benefited 35,360 small farmers and fisherfolk.

Pascual said that the crops sub-sector accounted for the bulk of the guaranteed loans, with P3.35 billion or 96% covered over the January-June 2021 period.

“For second quarter 2021, guaranteed loans to the agriculture sector by 47 PLIs have already reached P3.499 billion, which is already 95% of the 2021 target of P3.675 billion, benefitting 35,360 small farmers and fisherfolk. The outstanding balance as of 30 June 2021 amounted to P1.247 billion,” Pascual said in his report.

As the administrator of the Agricultural Guarantee Fund Pool (AGFP), PhilGuarantee is encouraging its PLIs to lend to small farmers and fisherfolks  or their organizations, by providing guarantee coverage to their unsecured agricultural production loans.

The livestock sub-sector came in second in terms of the amount of guaranteed loans as of June of this year, with borrowings amounting to P112.63 million, followed by fisheries with P27.86 million; and poultry with P12.03 million.

“Since the beginning of the COVID-19 crisis in March 2020, PhilGuarantee lost no time to enable its mandate and respond to the clarion call of the government to provide assistance to affected agri-based workers by way of its guarantee program,” Pascual said.

He said that last year, PhilGuarantee’s approved guarantee lines to 41 PLIs extending loans to the agriculture sector amounted to P5.14 billion, with guaranteed loans totaling P4.25 billion.

“This amount is 21.4 percent beyond our goal of P3.5 billion and resulted in assisting 48,038 small farmers and fisherfolk  nationwide. Outstanding balance as of 31 December 2020 amounted to P401.5 million,” Pascual said.—AOL, GMA News