DAVAO CITY—Government released P225.615 million to small farmers in the rice-producing Cotabato provinces in an interest-free regime to cushion the impact of the drop in low farm-gate prices in the second semester last year.
The Department of Agriculture in Region 12 said the loans were taken out from the recently established Expanded Survival and Recovery Assistance (Sure-Aid) program.
It said more than 15,000 rice farmers from North Cotabato, South Cotabato, Sultan Kudarat and Sarangani availed of the zero-interest loan.
Of this number, more than 8,000 farmers came from North Cotabato and more than 4,000 farmers came from Sultan Kudarat. These two provinces are the region’s leading rice-producing provinces, the department said.
According to DA Region 12 Regional Director Milagros C. Casis, the Agricultural Credit Policy Council (ACPC), through the Land Bank of the Philippines, released the P15,000 loan assistance each to 15,041 farmer-borrowers as of December 27 last year.
Casis said the region has a total allocation of 20,103 farmer-borrowers, but the agency only received 18,748 applications that were endorsed by the four provincial agriculture offices.
Of 18,748 farmer-applicants, 15,041 already received their loans, she added. The remaining 3,707 farmer-borrowers would receive their loans this month, Casis said.
Loans through the Sure-Aid program in the region started in November last year.
The Sure Aid program aims to provide loan assistance for immediate relief to rice farmers affected by the initial impact of lower palay prices resulting to the reduction or loss of their farm income, the ACPC posted in its Internet web site. It said the program intends to help rice farmers regain their capacity to continue their production.
The target beneficiaries are those who till 1 hectare and below. The DA regional office said these beneficiaries may avail of a one-time, zero-interest loan amounting to P15,000 payable up to eight years.
In addition, it said the National Food Authority would buy the produce of rice farmers who were able to benefit from the loan assistance.
The Philippine Statistics Authority said the drop in average farm-gate price of dry unhusked rice fell to a six-year low in August, while the average farm-gate price of wet palay went down lower by the third week of September.
The DA regional office quoted farmer Emma Aliza Sagim of Sarangani as saying the loan would be used to buy fertilizers and chemicals.