FINTQnologies Corp. (Fintq) said over the weekend it is keen on rolling out within the year an online platform that seeks to allow farmers to tap “affordable” financing and sell directly to consumers.
Fintq, the financial-technology arm of PLDT-owned Voyager Innovations Inc., said it has created the Accelerated Growth and Rural Inclusion (Agri platform as an expansion of its KasamaKA program, “a grassroots-based, bottom-up and multisectoral social advocacy program for inclusive growth in support of the government’s National Strategy for Financial Inclusion.”
“Agri is an end-to-end farm-to-marketplace digital agricultural value chain platform connecting producers to consumers for optimized productivity and greater efficiencies,” Fintq said in a statement. “It includes digital financial services through the award-winning Lendr platform, digital commerce through a marketplace, and cost-effective logistics infrastructure management in partnership with Metropac Movers,” it added.
Fintq said the Agri platform will be introduced nationwide by the company, in partnership with the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP), Department of Agriculture, League of Provinces of the Philippines, Liga ng mga Barangay sa Pilipinas, and Rural Bankers Association of the Philippines.
“The agricultural sector is vital to our nation’s development as it sustains the requirements of our growing population. It, likewise, needs to be well-funded to make it globally competitive and resilient against climate-related risks, especially in the Philippines, which is highly exposed to various weather-related hazards,” Lito Villanueva, Fintq managing director and KasamaKA founder and lead convenor, was quoted as saying.
Villanueva added: “the Agri platform will be an intervention to help reduce poverty in the countryside and boost shared prosperity at the bottom of the pyramid.” Fintq is planning to initially implement Agri in eight pilot areas, mostly in Mindanao. The company, however, did not specify the pilot areas.
“Farmers and fishermen are still deemed as high-risk borrowers of banks, but with the intervention of the Agri platform, which covers end-to-end of the agri-value chain, this will level the playing field. Agri will serve as an alternative channel for agriculture workers to source funds from Lendr partner banks and financial institutions,” Villanueva said.
Fintq said the Agri platform would also allow farmers to earn more while cutting the retail prices of their farm products “as it would cut down the unnecessary middlemen” with its “direct farm to business and consumer approach.”
“It will stimulate optimized productivity as it boosts rural economy and harness trade,” the company said.
“The platform will also include enhanced capacity-building program with sustained training, education and values formation, which would include marketing and sales modules. A partnership with a global standards certifying agency will also be part of the initiative to make Philippine produce globally competitive, as well,” it added.
BSP Governor Nestor A. Espenilla Jr. supported the rollout of Agri platform, saying: “Innovations enabled by digital technology and value-chain approach can not only make agri-financing more viable but also unlock new opportunities for rural banks and cooperatives to deliver a whole range of financial services catering to the unique needs of farmers and their communities.”
Agriculture Secretary Emmanuel F. Piñol welcomed the creation of the Agri platform, saying it would help improve the farm sector’s productivity. “We always look for ways to further capacitate our small farmers and fishers by providing more access to affordable financing and leveraging on technology,” Piñol was quoted as saying in the
statement.