Filipino farmers and fishermen borrowed P642.29 billion from private and government banks in 2016, 13.52 percent higher than the P565.777 billion recorded in 2015, according to the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA).
In its annual report, titled “Agricultural Indicators System: Agricultural Credit,” the PSA said 46.75 percent of the loans granted to farmers and fishermen were used for production activities.
“Of the total agricultural loans, about 46.75 percent, or P300.29 billion, were allocated for production purposes,” the PSA said in its report published on January 3.
Data from the PSA showed that total agricultural production loans granted to farmers and fishermen in 2016 were nearly 12 percent higher than the P267.135 billion posted in 2015.
The PSA said private banks remained as the top source of agricultural production loans, accounting for 82.7 percent, or P248.4 billion. The figure was 11.78 percent higher than the P222.22 billion granted by private banks to farmers and fishermen in 2015.
“In terms of the amount of loans provided by the private banks, the Private Commercial Banks (PKBs) had the biggest share at 36.3 percent of the total production loans. This was followed by Rural Banks at 22.5 percent, while Savings and Mortgage Banks and Private Development Banks recorded 9.7 percent and 8.2 percent shares, respectively,” the report read.
“The loans supplied by the Stocks Savings and Loan Associations continuously reported the least share with 6.1 percent in 2016,” it added.
PKBs granted a total of P108.99 billion of loans to farmers and fishermen in 2016, nearly 20 percent higher than the P91.07 billion recorded in 2015. Loans borrowed by farmers and fishermen from PDBs grew 8.10 percent to P24.67 billion in 2016, from the previous year’s P22.822 billion.
In 2016 loans granted by SMBs, SSLAs and RBs to farmers and fishermen reached P28.99 billion, P18.185 billion and P67.55 billion, respectively.
“Nearly 6-percent expansion in the volume of lendings was noted each in the other private banks,” the report read.
The remaining 13.7 percent of total agricultural production loans, amounting to P51.9 billion, were granted by government banks, according to the PSA. This was 13.02 percent higher than 2015’s P45.92 billion.
“For the government lendings, the Land Bank of the Philippines [LandBank] and Development Bank of the Philippines (DBP) expanded their credit assistance by 13.13 percent and 8.88 percent, respectively, but this was lower than last year’s growth rates,” the PSA said.
The LandBank, which accounted for 97 percent of total government agricultural production loans, granted P50.561 billion, while the DBP accounted for P1.334 billion.