The LandBank of the Philippines (LandBank) said it has able to achieve 86.5 percent, or about P229.38 billion, of its P265- billion total loan target to the agriculture sector this year just in one month.
LandBank President and Chief Executive Officer Cecilia Borromeo said the bank was able to assist 17,681 small farmers and fishermen through its various lending programs, bringing its total number assisted farmers to 1,050,663 by end-January.
“This brings the LandBank on track to achieving its target of assisting 2 million small farmers and fishers by yearend,” the Department of Finance (DOF) said in a news statement issued on Monday.
DOF said the bulk of the amount lent by LandBank in January went to small, medum and large agribusiness enterprise with an amount of P136.18 billion, while P53.31 billion were released to help finance agri-aqua related projects of local government units and government-owned and -controlled corporations.
“Of the P229.38 billion loaned out by LandBank to the agriculture sector, P1.36 billion were released through direct lending to farmers and fishers, while P38.53 billion were given through conduits, such as cooperatives, farmers’ associations and rural financial institutions,” Borromeo said.
Borromeo added that the bank’s cumulative loan releases under the Agricultural Competiveness Enhancement Fund of the Department of Agriculture (DA) has reached P1.42 billion as of January 31.
“For the DA’s Socialized Credit Program under the Sugarcane Industry Development Act, cumulative releases as of January 31 reached P130 million; for the Expanded Rice Credit Assistance-Rice Competitiveness Enhancement Fund [ERCA-RCEF], PP410 million; and the Survival and Recovery Assistance Program [SURE-Aid], P2.28 billion,” it said.
“Of these programs, the ERCA-RCEF and SURE-Aid, which were implemented to provide support to farmers following the implementation of the rice tariffication law, have the highest utilization rates of 82 percent and 91.2 percent, respectively,” it added.
For the Credit Assistance Program-Program Beneficaries Development, which LandBank administers for the Department of Agrarian Reform, the bank has lent out a total of P580 million by end-January.
Earlier, LandBank said it was able to exceed its target of agricultural loan worth P231.25 billion in 2019 after it lent out P236.31 billion extended to over 1 million farmers.