DA allots P1 billion to new loan facility for Isabela farmers

The Department of Agriculture has allotted P1 billion to Isabela province for a pilot credit facility for farmers.

DA Secretary Emmanuel Piñol revealed the allotment during a meeting with 4,000 local farmers and fisherfolk in Cauayan City, Isabela on May 9 after he visited Benham Rise, which has been renamed to Philippine Rise, the department said on Thursday.

An initial P100 million will be given to the province from the Agricultural Credit and Policy Council (ACPC) to implement the Production Loan Easy Credit program, Piñol noted.

“I will ask ACPC to allot P100M for the province of Isabela to implement the program,” Piñol said in a statement. “Farmers can use [the money] to purchase hybrid seeds and fertilizer for their farmlands," the Cabinet official said.

Beneficiary farmers must undergo training and be officially registered as farmers they can benefit from the program. Farmers will then be given identification cars with microchips to ensure that they are qualified and prevent them from abusing the program.

Out of the P1 billion, P325 million will be allotted to the rice program, P7.14 million to livestock promotion and development, P26 million to high value crop development and P78 million to corn and cassava development.

About P268 million of assistance will given to infrastructure projects under the Philippine Rural Development Program, P229 million to farm-to-market road projects, P80 million to fisheries development and P50, 000 to carabao bull dispersal.

Isabela is one of the top producers of rice and corn in the country, Piñol said, noting that the credit facility could help farmers produce more by learning how to use more efficient planting and harvesting methods.

Another DA program – the National Color Coded Agriculture Map – guides farmers on the best area to plant crops, the Cabinet official noted.

“For areas that do not have internet access, we are planning to print an atlas and display it in every municipalities where farmers and fisherfolk can see the crops they can plant in their area,” Piñol said. — Joseph Tristan Roxas/VDS, GMA News