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THE
government is pooling funds worth P3 billion to
guarantee the loans of thousands of rice farmers in the
country.
The
guarantee fund, Agriculture Secretary Arthur Yap said
late Tuesday, forms part of the long-term goal of making
the Philippines self-sufficient in rice and stabilize
the commodity’s price over the near term.
At the
annual assembly of members of the Rural Bankers
Association of the Philippines at the Hotel Sofitel, Yap
said the money comes from funds of government-owned or
-controlled corporations and from contributions (GOCCs)
from various local government units (LGUs).
According to Yap, some P1 billion came from GOCCs that
dropped 5 percent of their net income to the pool and
another P1 billion from LGUs, particularly the League of
Governors, which set aside a portion of the internal
revenue allotment they monetized for this purpose.
Other
public units that recognized the need to ensure that
rice farmers around the country would have access to
bank loans contributed P1.3 billion, Yap added.
Land
Bank of the Philippines’ Gilda Pico, in a separate
interview, confirmed that farmers from around the
country have benefited from the fund.
She said
the proceeds from the pool had been deposited with the
LandBank and accredited farmers, via the bank’s conduit
institutions, were able to take out loans on the basis
of this guarantee.
Most
banks hesitate to extend crop loans to farmers unless
backed by a guarantee scheme, according to Pico.
Yap had strong reservations on the self-sufficiency program of
the government unless banks help farmers through
affordable financing.
Only
some 4 million hectares of arable land in the country
are planted to rice versus 10 million in Thailand, Yap
said.
With
financing support from banks, the rice- sufficiency rate
should rise to 93 percent this year from 90 percent
previously, according to Yap. |
